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Obama names NY health chief to head CDC

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-15 23:48

ATLANTA -- US President Barack Obama on Friday named a public health activist who made New York the first US city to ban smoking in restaurants to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency charged with protecting Americans from illnesses ranging from heart disease to new flu strains.

Thomas Frieden, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, speaks in New York, September 8, 2006. [Agencies]

Dr. Thomas Frieden, 48, New York's top health official since January 2002, also made the city the country's first to ban the use of trans fats, which clog arteries and raise the risk of heart disease, from food prepared in restaurants.

He will take over as director of an organization that in recent weeks has been central to global efforts to understand and combat the H1N1 flu virus. The illness, also known as swine flu, has killed 65 people, including 60 in Mexico, and infected nearly 6,500 people in 33 countries.

"Frieden is an expert in preparedness and response to health emergencies, and has been at the forefront of the fight against heart disease, cancer and obesity, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and AIDS," the White House said in a statement.

"Frieden has been a leader in the fight for health care reform, and his experiences confronting public health challenges in our country and abroad will be essential in this new role," it said.

Under Frieden's leadership, New York in 2006 launched the country's biggest community-based electronic health record project in an effort to improve preventive care.

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Before his New York post, Frieden worked in India for five years on tuberculosis control. He has also worked as an epidemiologist, administrator, teacher, researcher, clinician and community organizer.

"I am deeply honored and privileged to be selected for this position, and I look forward to learning from and working with the wonderful staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Frieden said in a statement.

Favors Expanded AIDS Testing

His appointment should please AIDS advocates as he is likely to further focus attention on the epidemic of the virus in the United States, which is spreading among minorities, gay and bisexual men and many women.

Frieden has pressed for expanding routine testing for the AIDS virus as a first step to controlling it.

He will also likely follow the lead of former CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding in becoming a very visible spokesperson for the agency.

The CDC has been headed by acting director Dr. Richard Besser since January when Gerberding resigned.

Besser became the public face of the organization's fight against H1N1 during daily televised news briefings. He will continue in his role coordinating CDC's office of terrorism preparedness and emergency response, the statement said.

CDC, based at a campus site in Atlanta, has a budget of around $9 billion. It is tasked with tracking disease across the United States and helping other countries battle outbreaks of diseases ranging from H5N1 avian influenza to Ebola.

Frieden will start his job in June.