At a glance
For over 45 years, CDC has collaborated with public health institutions in Thailand to build and strengthen global health security efforts. CDC’s tightly bound U.S.-Thai partnership has secured data sharing, accelerated disease detection, response, and containment efforts, and sustained laboratory platforms capable of performing rapid and accurate diagnostics and identifying new pathogens. CDC-supported priority public health projects in Thailand contain and prevent current and emerging health threats from reaching U.S. shores, protecting the health of Americans and public health around the world.
Key accomplishments
- Supported sentinel surveillance and sequencing of viruses to monitor circulating influenza and respiratory pathogens.
- Worked with the Thailand National Influenza Center (NIC), a regional sequencing hub for CDC that averaged 80 influenza sequences per month in 2025. Data generated by the NIC informs yearly influenza vaccine development.
- Strengthened surveillance through early-warning tools and alert systems, improving the speed, sensitivity, and reliability of data collection to improve public health preparedness and response.
- Conducted and supported more than 50 laboratory-based trainings on topics such as advanced molecular fungal diagnostics, proficiency testing, biosafety and biosecurity, and quality assurance.
- Trained over 1,100 public health workers through Thailand’s Field Epidemiology Training Program. Graduates have become experts who respond to outbreaks and emergencies and protect the health of the public.
- Drove efforts within the Field Epidemiology Training Network (FETN) to strengthen collaboration across countries in Southeast Asia and equip FETN mentors with the skills needed to lead more effective outbreak responses.
- Helped the country receive certification for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, becoming the first Asian country to do so.
- Supported multiple outbreak responses, including as cholera, monkeypox, anthrax, and rabies, in Thailand and the region by providing technical assistance and accelerated diagnostic confirmation.
Global health security
Thailand is a steadfast U.S. partner and committed to improving global health security efforts in the region. CDC prioritizes efforts that strengthen Thailand’s public health systems across the following core areas:
Surveillance systems
CDC funding helps support various surveillance system strengthening efforts in Thailand, including:
- Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in quarantine settings.
- Surveillance of COVID-19 in patients presenting with febrile illness and post-COVID-19 conditions in two provinces.
- Improving early warning and response for dengue infection.
- Laboratory-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistant organisms in four Thai Regional Medical Science Centers.
- Sentinel surveillance for influenza among those with severe acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illnesses.
Laboratory systems strengthening
CDC collaborates with public health institutions in Thailand to enhance and expand infectious disease surveillance systems using innovative approaches and technologies to detect, respond to, and monitor disease outbreaks more effectively.
Workforce development
CDC established the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) in 1980 and the Southeast Asia Regional Global Laboratory Leadership Program (GLLP) in 2023 within the Thailand Ministry of Public Health. The FETP equips public health professionals with advanced epidemiological skills through a combination of classroom-based training, fieldwork, and mentorship. The GLLP fosters and mentors current and emerging laboratory leaders to build, strengthen, and sustain national laboratory systems using a multi-sectoral approach. Graduates of the programs become public health leaders within the Ministry of Public Health and work tirelessly alongside CDC and on the frontlines to prevent the spread of diseases and safeguard communities worldwide.
Emergency response
CDC strengthens Thailand’s capacity to quickly and effectively respond in times of crisis through threat and hazard prioritization, risk assessment, targeted trainings, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) assessments, and exercises. This work strengthens national and sub-national emergency preparedness and response systems and enhances surge capacity of rapid response teams. CDC works with the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) EOC Network in enhancing cross-border and regional coordination to support the future ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases. As a lead implementer of the global 7-1-7 framework, CDC helps Thailand and countries in the region increase both the speed and accuracy of their response to disease threats by detecting, notifying, and responding to public health emergencies within seven days.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
CDC provides technical assistance to support Thailand's national strategic plan to prevent, detect, and respond to AMR. CDC activities include:
- Assessing and building the capacity of health facilities in Bangkok to prevent, detect and respond to AMR through a quality improvement focus and laboratory advanced molecular techniques.
- Strengthening national and sub-national AMR laboratory networks and modernized AMR reporting and data sharing system to enhance data for action.
- Enhancing wastewater surveillance for bacterial pathogen detection and bolstering national diagnostic capacity in alignment with the current AMR National Strategic Plan.
HIV and TB
As a key implementer of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC plays an essential role in the fight against HIV and TB. With unmatched scientific and technical knowledge and long-standing relationships with ministries of health, CDC is uniquely positioned to advance HIV, TB, and other global health security activities that keep Americans safe at home and abroad.
Through PEPFAR, CDC provides critical support to Thailand's public health infrastructure, improving the country's ability to prevent, detect, and respond to HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases and minimizing their risk from entering the U.S.
Migration health
CDC’s global migration health experts address public health threats before they cross international borders. CDC provides technical support to the ministries of health of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on disease surveillance, emergency response and disease prevention at border crossings. Activities include but are not limited to:
- Support of disease detection and prevention at international points of entry in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
- Training and development of migrant health volunteer networks.
Influenza
CDC’s Global Influenza Program supports Thailand to sustain robust influenza surveillance to increase pandemic preparedness. CDC’s primary objectives include:
- Providing epidemiologic and laboratory technical support for influenza detection, response, and prevention activities across Southeast Asia.
- Sharing of viruses and data to inform selection of viruses for seasonal influenza vaccines.
- Innovating surveillance, including linking new national databases to sentinel surveillance and use of sequencing data to better define risks of illness.
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