Asthma surveillance programs in public health departments--United States.

Although asthma affects more than 14 million persons in the United States, there have been no nationally coordinated efforts to assist state health departments in developing asthma surveillance programs. To characterize asthma surveillance and control programs in public health departments in the United States, during March and April 1996, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and CDC conducted a survey of state and territorial epidemiologists. This report presents the results of that survey, which indicate that most states lack the funding and data necessary to develop asthma surveillance programs.