The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health works to prevent asthma and improve the health and quality of life for persons with asthma.

Asthma is one of the nation's most common and costly diseases.

• Asthma affects more than 15 million Americans, including almost 5 million children.
  
• Asthma is the most prevalent chronic disease among children, and can be life-threatening.
  
• The death rate for children 19 years and younger increased by 78% between 1980 and 1993.
  
• In 1990, costs related to asthma were estimated to total $6.2 billion; the projected cost of asthma in this country for the year 2000 is expected to double to $14.5 billion.

Environmental interventions, in combination with medical management, can significantly reduce the burden of asthma.

• Although much has been learned in recent years about how to prevent asthma, this information still needs to be put into sound public health practice.
  
• Managing asthma requires a long-term, multifaceted approach, including patient education, behavior changes, avoidance of asthma triggers, pharmacologic therapy, and frequent medical follow-up.

CDC's role is to ensure that proven comprehensive asthma intervention and surveillance programs are implemented through its State and local partners.

CDC is developing a national strategy to assist States in  developing asthma prevention programs to:

• Promote healthy home environments
  
• Translate science into public health practice
  
• Provide patient and community-level education and develop prevention partnerships
  
• Define the problem, the cause, effective prevention measures, and ways to accomplish prevention goals