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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Infectious Disease

Goal: Reduce rates of infectious diseases and improve health for people with chronic infections.

A woman lying on a couch under a blanket blows her nose with a tissue while reading a book that sits in her lap.

Many people in the United States get sick and die from infectious diseases each year.  Healthy People 2030 focuses on preventing and treating infectious diseases.

Making sure children and at-risk adults get vaccinated for diseases like measles, pertussis, flu, and hepatitis A and B is key to preventing infections. In addition, increasing awareness of chronic infections like hepatitis B and C can help more people get diagnosed and treated.

For diseases that can’t be prevented by vaccines, like hepatitis C, early diagnosis and treatment can help improve health outcomes. Infection control interventions at hospitals can also help reduce health care-associated infections like C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) and MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Objective Status

  • 2 Target met or exceeded
  • 5 Improving
  • 1 Little or no detectable change
  • 2 Getting worse
  • 5 Baseline only
  • 3 Developmental
  • 0 Research

Learn more about objective types

Related Objectives

The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic. Some objectives may include population data.

Infectious Disease — General

Reduce the rate of hospital admissions for urinary tract infections among older adults — OA‑07
Baseline only
Reduce tuberculosis cases — IID‑17
Improving
Reduce cases of pertussis among infants — IID‑05
Target met or exceeded

Health Care-Associated Infections

Reduce C. diff infections that people get in the hospital — HAI‑01
Target met or exceeded
Reduce MRSA bloodstream infections that people get in the hospital — HAI‑02
Improving
Reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in outpatient settings — HAI‑D01
Developmental

Sensory or Communication Disorders

Reduce ear infections in children — HOSCD‑04
Baseline only

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Reduce the rate of acute hepatitis B — IID‑11
Improving
Reduce the rate of deaths with hepatitis B as a cause — IID‑15
Improving
Reduce the rate of deaths with hepatitis C as a cause — IID‑16
Improving
Reduce the rate of hepatitis A — IID‑10
Getting worse
Reduce the rate of acute hepatitis C — IID‑12
Getting worse
Reduce infections of HPV types prevented by the vaccine in young adults — IID‑07
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of people who know they have chronic hepatitis B — IID‑13
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of people who no longer have hepatitis C — IID‑14
Baseline only

Vaccination

Maintain the elimination of measles, rubella, congenital rubella syndrome, and polio — IID‑01
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of people with vaccination records in an information system — IID‑D02
Developmental
Increase the proportion of adults age 19 years or older who get recommended vaccines — IID‑D03
Developmental

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