If you're among the epidemiologists who investigate disease outbreaks and conduct research with deadly pathogens, you work at the frontlines of global health security with risks that most scientists never face. Every outbreak investigation, every laboratory session with biosafety level 3 or 4 agents carries inherent dangers: direct exposure to novel and deadly pathogens, laboratory-acquired infections from sample handling, fieldwork in epidemic zones with inadequate protective equipment, hemorrhagic fever exposure including Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa, and respiratory pathogen exposure during outbreak investigations. These aren't theoretical risks—they're the calculated realities you manage through rigorous protocols, specialized training, and unwavering commitment to protecting public health.

Your final messages should acknowledge the profound importance of disease surveillance and outbreak investigation work. Share what this research has meant to you—the outbreaks contained, the pandemic threats neutralized, the scientific discoveries that protect millions of people who will never know your name. Explain your biosafety protocols, your containment procedures, your risk management strategies when handling hemorrhagic fever samples or investigating respiratory pathogen outbreaks. Let your family see that every exposure risk was taken with full knowledge of potential consequences, guided by protocols designed to protect both researchers and the public.

Consider creating research-specific messages that address the unique aspects of different pathogen categories and outbreak scenarios. Document your most significant investigations, the outbreaks you helped contain, the laboratory techniques you pioneered, and the profound satisfaction of advancing scientific understanding of infectious diseases. These details provide context that helps your family understand why you chose this career despite the risks of handling Ebola samples, investigating Marburg outbreaks, or conducting fieldwork in regions where protective equipment is inadequate. Share your philosophy about public health service, the ethical framework that guides your decisions about acceptable risk, and the deep meaning you've found in outbreak investigation work.

For those who share your life, acknowledge both their sacrifice and their unique burden. They've endured your deployments to Ebola outbreak zones, worried during investigations of novel respiratory pathogens, and accepted that your commitment to public health sometimes meant accepting risks that terrify most people. Express gratitude for their understanding when you deployed despite inadequate protective equipment or conducted laboratory work with deadly viruses. Let them know that if the worst happens during outbreak investigation or pathogen research, it occurred while you were protecting global health security and working to prevent the next pandemic that could claim millions of lives.

JP, Luca, CJ, 8, and Summer