The CDC described the site, with content focused on public health preparedness and emergency response, as the official federal site for medical, laboratory, and public health professionals to reference when providing information to the public and for updates on protocols related to health threats such as anthrax.
In October 2001, CDC experienced a more than 100 percent increase in traffic to its main website. CDC was the most visited federal government website in the nation in October, registering more than 9.1 million unique visits.