Emerging Infections Sentinel Networks - Infectious Disease Specialists | Apply Online

FAQs: Emerging Infections Sentinel Networks - Infectious Disease Specialists (CDC Cooperative Agreement)

1) What is the "Emerging Infections Sentinel Networks - Infectious Disease Specialists" opportunity?

It is a CDC discretionary cooperative agreement intended to continue support for a provider-based sentinel surveillance network made up of infectious disease specialists. The network is designed to capture and share early clinical signals that may not be well detected through traditional health department surveillance systems.

2) Which CDC organization is associated with this cooperative agreement?

The opportunity is issued by HHS/CDC and is associated with NCEZID.

3) What is the primary purpose of funding this infectious disease specialist sentinel network?

The primary purpose is to maintain and strengthen a clinician-driven early warning and information-sharing system that helps public health agencies detect, interpret, and respond to emerging infectious disease threats more quickly and effectively.

4) What problem is this sentinel network meant to address?

CDC has recognized that some important conditions and early signals are not well captured through routine or traditional health department surveillance. Certain threats may first appear in specific clinical settings, and the network is intended to fill that gap by translating what clinicians observe into actionable public health intelligence.

5) What is meant by a provider-based sentinel surveillance network in this context?

In this context, it refers to a network of clinicians (infectious disease specialists) who monitor and share observations from real-world medical practice to identify unusual patterns, rapidly communicate clinical findings, and connect frontline care with public health response.

6) What is the relationship between EISNs and the Emerging Infections Network (EIN)?

EISNs (Emerging Infections Sentinel Networks) is the broader program concept. Within that broader program, the infectious disease specialist network is often referred to as the Emerging Infections Network (EIN), and this funding announcement focuses specifically on that specialist network.

7) Are there other networks in the broader EISN program besides the infectious disease specialist network?

Yes. CDC supports three complementary networks within the broader EISN program: (1) the EIN (infectious disease specialists), (2) the EMERGEncy ID Net (an emergency department-based network tied to academic emergency departments), and (3) GeoSentinel (a global network of travel medicine clinics).

8) How do the EISN networks differ from each other?

They serve complementary roles based on clinical setting and focus area (infectious disease specialists, emergency departments, and travel medicine clinics). However, they share the same overall purpose: converting clinician observations into practical, actionable public health intelligence, particularly for issues that are new, fast-moving, or not yet well defined in routine reporting systems.

9) What kinds of infectious disease threats does the CDC highlight for this network?

The opportunity highlights strengthening surveillance across emerging infectious disease threats, including drug-resistant infections, foodborne and waterborne diseases, and vaccine-preventable or potentially vaccine-preventable diseases.

10) Why are infectious disease specialists important for early detection?

Infectious disease physicians are often among the first to recognize unusual case clusters, treatment failures, novel clinical presentations, or shifts in pathogen behavior. Organizing those observations through a structured network supports earlier identification of trends and potential outbreaks.

11) What are the main objectives described for the infectious disease specialist network?

The objectives emphasize surveillance and readiness, including: monitoring diverse infectious disease problems, strengthening communication and collaboration among clinicians and public health, providing a rapid mechanism to address urgent public health questions, improving understanding of specific public health problems, and enhancing preparedness for new or evolving threats.

12) What does it mean that the network should support "linked groups of participating individuals or organizations"?

It indicates the network is expected to connect participating clinicians and/or organizations so their observations can be coordinated, shared, and used to monitor infectious disease issues while improving communication with the public health community.

13) What does "rapid mechanism for addressing urgent public health questions" mean in practice?

It means the network should be accessible and able to quickly gather and relay real-world input from infectious disease specialists when time-sensitive questions arise, allowing CDC and partners to rapidly solicit clinical insights during emerging or urgent situations.

14) How does this program improve preparedness for emerging infections?

By building clinical awareness and practical capacity to detect unusual events, improving understanding of public health problems, and strengthening connections between clinicians and public health authorities so that signals can be interpreted and acted upon faster.

15) What type of federal funding instrument is this?

This is a discretionary cooperative agreement.

16) What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant?

It indicates substantial involvement and collaboration with CDC, rather than a simple pass-through funding relationship.

17) What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 93.860.

18) Who is eligible to apply?

The listing indicates open eligibility (unrestricted). Any limits, if they exist, would be clarified in the full eligibility text.

19) When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

It was posted on March 10, 2016, and closed on May 9, 2016.

20) How many awards were expected?

The listing indicates one expected award.

21) What was the award ceiling?

The summary fields show an award ceiling of 0. This often indicates the ceiling was not specified in the extracted summary information, rather than implying that there was no funding.

22) What is the broader historical basis for this program concept?

The concept traces back to CDC's 1994 prevention strategy on emerging infectious diseases, which recognized that some important conditions are not well captured through traditional surveillance and may first appear in specific clinical settings.

23) What is the overall value of the EIN/EISN approach to public health surveillance?

The overall value is timely information exchange and early signal detection: spotting unusual patterns, rapidly sharing clinical observations, and strengthening coordination between frontline medical practice and public health authorities, especially when an issue is new or not yet well represented in routine reporting systems.