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CDC Releases “The Junior Disease Detectives: Operation Outbreak”, A
New Graphic Novel To Help Teach About Influenza
According to a CDC press release, the agency has produced a graphic
novel to help young people understand the potential health risks of
influenza viruses that normally circulate in swine and can cause
disease in people (known as variant flu infections). While variant flu
infections in people are rare, they can sometimes lead to serious
illness, including hospitalization and death.
Education/Inspiration
“We are
very excited to share this graphic novel with the public and hope that
it helps educate people about variant flu and how best to prevent flu
viruses from spreading between animals and people,” said Douglas
Jordan, a health communications specialist in CDC’s Influenza
Division who co-wrote the novel and managed the project. “We also
would love for our graphic novel to inspire the next generation of
disease detectives.”
Collaborators
CDC
developed the graphic novel in collaboration with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and 4-H, the youth development organization
affiliated with USDA. The novel follows a group of teenage 4-H members
who participate in a state agricultural fair and later attend CDC’s
Disease Detective Camp in Atlanta.
When one of the boys becomes sick following the fair,
the rest of the group uses its newly acquired disease detective skills
to help a team of public- and animal-health experts solve the mystery
of how their friend became sick. The graphic novel was developed at
CDC and illustrated by Bob Hobbs, the artist who illustrated
CDC’s Zombie Pandemic graphic novel.
Free
The
graphic novel, “The Junior Disease Detectives: Operation Outbreak,” is
available for free download from the CDC
flu website and
the Apple
iBook store.
Educational Activities
CDC
collaborated with teachers participating in its Science
Ambassador Fellowship to
develop educational activities to accompany the graphic novel for use
in middle and high school science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) classrooms
across the country.
Earlier
this year, the CDC Science Ambassador Fellowship piloted the first of
these activities with over 120 middle and high school STEM teachers.
This activity is being released with the graphic novel, and the
program plans to roll out additional classroom activities throughout
the 2018-2019 school year.
The
graphic novel and its associated curriculum is part of a broader CDC
initiative with USDA and other agricultural partners to raise
awareness, knowledge, and understanding of a One Health approach to
zoonotic disease prevention and response. A One Health approach
recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of
animals and the environment. ■
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