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Author: Staff
Last fall CDC
announced that support, product development and technical
assistance for Epi Info™ would cease effective September 30, 2025.
After almost 40 years of use this announcement came as a
surprise to many in the
epidemiology community. CDC provided detailed information about the
timeline for phasing the tool out and answers many common questions
here:
https://tinyurl.com/4j6pfcky
Their hope was that by providing roughly a year's advance notice that
users would be able to engineer a smooth transition. Their statement
at the time read as follows:
This sunsetting decision is part
of OPHDST's realignment of resources to focus on products that support
our "One Public Health Approach" to data modernization…We recognize
that Epi Info™ has been an integral part of users' public health work
for nearly four decades. We appreciate the trust you have placed in
Epi Info™ and CDC.”
Last November the
EpiMonitor conducted a
lengthy interview with Dr. Andrew Dean who was one of the original
developers of Epi Info™ along with his wife and son: Drs. Consuelo
Beck-Sagué and Jeffrey Dean. The elder Dean and Beck-Sagué were EIS
officers at the time they created Epi Info™. Dr. Jeffrey Dean was a
16 year old high school student with a passion for computers,
programming and science.
Epi Info started in
1985 at CDC as a free MS DOS program for epidemiologists to enter and
analyze data. Over the last 40 years it has been updated to Windows
and Web versions with a large number of added features for
epidemiology and public health
purposes. Additional information on the history of Epi info can be
found here:
https://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/story.html.
Additional information on the history of Epi Info can also be found on
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epi_Info
As described on the CDC website: “Epi Info™ is a public domain suite
of interoperable software tools designed for the global community of
public health practitioners and researchers. It provides easy data
entry form and database construction, a customized data entry
experience, and data analyses with epidemiologic statistics, maps, and
graphs for public health professionals who may lack an information
technology background. Epi Info™ is used for outbreak investigations;
for developing small to mid-sized disease surveillance systems; as
analysis, visualization, and reporting (AVR) components of larger
systems; and in the continuing education in the science of
epidemiology and public health analytic methods at schools of public
health around the world.”
In response to the CDC decision to sunset Epi Info™, a group
has started the “Save Epi Info” Project to ensure the continuity of
this vital tool and exploring avenues for its preservation. The core
team plans to identify individuals to explore possible options to
continue the availability and support of Epi Info™. A critical
challenge lies in securing funding for this
ambitious project.
Identifying potential sponsors and sustainable funding sources will be
key to the project's success and longevity.
If you share our
commitment to saving Epi Info, let's unite efforts and collaborate on
a strategic plan. Interested individuals are encouraged to connect and
contribute ideas by reaching out to
Save.Epi.Info@gmail.com.
Information and
progress on the effort will be made available at
sites.google.com/view/save-epi-info
Together, we can work
towards preserving and advancing the legacy of Epi Info for the
benefit of public health initiatives worldwide.
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🛑
SAVE EPI INFO!
Protect this valuable Public Health Tool from Being Unsupported
What is Epi
Info?
A free software
developed by the CDC
Used by public health professionals worldwide
Helps in outbreak investigations, data collection, analysis &
visualization
Why It
Matters:
✅ Supports rapid response during disease outbreaks
✅ Vital for training epidemiologists
✅ Trusted by global health institutions and NGOs
✅
Low-cost tool accessible to low-resource countries
Epi Info support by CDC is being discontinued.
Without it, frontline health workers and researchers lose a
critical resource.
Add your voice:
Join the Save Epi Info Project –
email: Save.Epi.Info@gmail.com;
website: sites.google.com/view/save-epi-info
Together, we
can protect public health infrastructure.
Don’t let this essential tool
disappear.
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