I intend, along with my ACET colleagues, to contribute to CDC’s goal of elimination of TB in the U.S.
Elizabeth A. Talbot, MDDartmouth Health infectious disease physician Elizabeth A. Talbot, MD, has joined the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis (ACET). Talbot, who is also deputy state epidemiologist for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, was invited by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve on ACET through June 2029.
“Dr. Talbot’s ACET appointment is incredible honor that reflects her stature in the field of infectious disease prevention and is a well-deserved recognition of the impact of her work,” said Vera P. Luther, MD, section chief of infectious disease and international health at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. “Her accomplishment is, of course, a tremendous source of pride for all of us at Dartmouth Health as well.”
Tuberculosis (TB), which typically infects the lungs but can spread to other areas of the body, is airborne and can be fatal. TB vaccines are not routinely administered in the U.S. as transmission rates are generally low and the vaccine does not reliably prevent adult lung disease. However, spikes occasionally occur in the U.S., as was the case earlier this year.
“It is a great privilege to serve CDC through ACET and work with infectious disease professionals I admire on recommendations regarding policies, strategies, objectives, and priorities to protect fellow Americans,” Talbot said. “Tremendous strides have been made to reduce the burden of TB, which has been a scourge worldwide throughout human history, but recurring pockets of the disease remind us how important research and prevention are. I intend, along with my ACET colleagues, to contribute to CDC’s goal of elimination of TB in the U.S.”
Talbot joined Dartmouth Health in 2003; previously, she worked for CDC. She attended medical school at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University and is fellowship-trained in infectious diseases and international health. Talbot’s leadership and expertise in infectious disease were critical to Dartmouth Health and the state of New Hampshire for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to shape safety protocols and serve as a trusted voice for factual, science-based data.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.