Unofficial CDC MCP Server
A comprehensive MCP (Model Context Protocol) server providing access to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) public health data through the Socrata Open Data API (SODA).
Total Datasets: 73 (no authentication required) Surveillance Systems: 18 different CDC programs Health Measures: 100+ indicators across chronic disease, behavioral risk, environmental health, outbreak detection, vaccination, and drug overdose
Features
- TypeScript Implementation: Built with @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
- Comprehensive Coverage: 73 public datasets across 18 surveillance systems
- Unified Interface: Single tool with 18 specialized methods
- Real-Time Surveillance: NNDSS outbreak detection for 50+ notifiable diseases
- COVID-19 Vaccination: County-level tracking with equity metrics (SVI, urban/rural)
- Drug Overdose Crisis: Real-time monitoring with drug-specific tracking (fentanyl, opioids)
- Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting (500ms delay) to respect API quotas
- App Token Support: Enhanced rate limits (1,000 requests/hour) with valid app token
- Flexible Querying: Support for filtering, pagination, and custom SoQL queries
- 100% Public Data: All datasets accessible without authentication
Available Data Sources
Dataset Coverage (73 Total)
| Category | Datasets | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| PLACES | 5 | County, place, tract, ZCTA (40+ health measures) |
| BRFSS | 7 | Comprehensive 2011-present + historical 1995-2010 |
| YRBSS | 2 | Youth health surveillance (substance use, mental health) |
| Respiratory | 2 | Combined RSV/COVID/Flu + RSV-specific |
| Vaccination | 5 | Teen, pregnant, kindergarten, flu all ages, RSV |
| Vital Statistics | 5 | Birth, death, maternal, infant statistics |
| Environmental | 2 | Air quality, water fluoridation |
| Tobacco | 6 | Economic impact + 5 policy types |
| Injury | 2 | TBI surveillance, alcohol-impaired driving |
| Infectious Disease | 2 | Pneumococcal, foodborne/waterborne |
| Maternal-Child | 3 | Breastfeeding, PRAMS, birth statistics |
| Oral/Vision | 2 | NOHSS oral health, BRFSS vision |
| Nutrition | 3 | Behavioral, policy, youth-specific |
| Disease-Specific | 4 | Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, COVID |
| Historical | 1 | Pre-ACA health care access (1995-2010) |
| NNDSS | 14 | Real-time outbreak detection (50+ notifiable diseases) |
| COVID-19 Vaccination | 4 | County-level tracking with equity metrics |
| Drug Overdose | 6 | Provisional + finalized overdose data by drug type |
Usage
{
"mcpServers": {
"cdc-mcp-server": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/cdc-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
"env": {
"CDC_APP_TOKEN": "your_app_token_here"
}
}
}
}
Note: The CDC_APP_TOKEN environment variable is optional but recommended for enhanced rate limits (1,000 req/hour vs shared pool).
MCP Methods
Core Methods (5)
1. list_datasets
List all 53 available CDC datasets.
{
"method": "list_datasets"
}
2. get_places_data
Get PLACES local disease prevalence data (40+ health measures).
Parameters:
geography_level: "county", "place", "tract", "zcta" (default: "county")year: "2023", "2024" (default: "2024")state: State abbreviation (e.g., "CA", "TX")measure_id: Disease measure (e.g., "DIABETES", "OBESITY", "CHD")location: Specific location namelimit: Max results (default: 100)offset: Pagination offset (default: 0)
Example:
{
"method": "get_places_data",
"geography_level": "county",
"year": "2024",
"state": "CA",
"measure_id": "DIABETES"
}
3. get_brfss_data
Get BRFSS behavioral risk factor data.
Parameters:
dataset_type: "obesity_national", "obesity_state", "diabetes", "asthma"year: Specific yearstate: State abbreviationlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_brfss_data",
"dataset_type": "diabetes",
"year": 2023,
"state": "NY"
}
4. search_dataset
Generic search across any CDC dataset with custom SoQL queries.
Parameters:
dataset_name: Dataset identifier (required)select_fields: Fields to returnwhere_clause: SoQL WHERE clauseorder_by: Sort fieldlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "search_dataset",
"dataset_name": "breastfeeding_nis",
"where_clause": "state='Texas'",
"limit": 100
}
5. get_available_measures
List all available measures for a specific dataset.
Example:
{
"method": "get_available_measures",
"dataset_name": "places_county_2024"
}
Tier 1 Methods: High-Priority Health Surveillance (7)
6. get_yrbss_data
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (substance use, mental health, violence).
Parameters:
state: State abbreviationtopic: "substance_use", "mental_health", "violence", "sexual_behaviors", "nutrition", "physical_activity"year: Survey yearlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_yrbss_data",
"state": "CA",
"topic": "mental_health",
"year": 2023
}
7. get_respiratory_surveillance
Combined RSV/COVID-19/Flu hospitalization surveillance.
Parameters:
virus: "rsv", "covid", "flu", "combined" (default: "combined")state: Jurisdictionyear: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_respiratory_surveillance",
"virus": "rsv",
"state": "NY",
"year": 2024
}
8. get_vaccination_coverage
Vaccination rates by age group.
Parameters:
age_group: "teen", "pregnant", "kindergarten" (required)state: State abbreviationvaccine_type: "hpv", "tdap", "menacwy", "flu"year: Survey yearlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_vaccination_coverage",
"age_group": "teen",
"state": "TX",
"vaccine_type": "hpv",
"year": 2023
}
9. get_birth_statistics
Birth rates and birth outcome indicators.
Parameters:
indicator: "birth_rate", "preterm", "cesarean", "low_birth_weight"state: Jurisdictionyear: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_birth_statistics",
"indicator": "preterm",
"state": "CA",
"year": 2024
}
10. get_environmental_health
Air quality measures with health tracking.
Parameters:
pollutant: "pm25", "ozone", "combined" (default: "combined")state: State filtercounty: County nameyear: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_environmental_health",
"pollutant": "pm25",
"county": "Los Angeles",
"year": 2023
}
11. get_tobacco_impact
Smoking-attributable mortality, morbidity, and economic costs.
Parameters:
impact_type: "mortality", "morbidity", "economic_cost"state: State abbreviationyear: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_tobacco_impact",
"impact_type": "economic_cost",
"state": "OH",
"year": 2022
}
12. get_oral_vision_health
Oral and vision health surveillance.
Parameters:
health_domain: "oral", "vision" (required)state: State abbreviationyear: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_oral_vision_health",
"health_domain": "oral",
"state": "FL",
"year": 2023
}
Tier 2 Methods: Policy-Relevant & Niche Specializations (3)
13. get_injury_surveillance
TBI surveillance - emergency visits, hospitalizations, deaths by mechanism.
Parameters:
injury_type: "tbi", "motor_vehicle", "all" (default: "tbi")state: State abbreviationmechanism: "fall", "motor_vehicle", "assault", "sports", "all"year: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Example:
{
"method": "get_injury_surveillance",
"injury_type": "tbi",
"mechanism": "fall",
"state": "FL",
"year": 2022
}
14. get_tobacco_policy
Tobacco control policy tracking (5 policy types supported).
Parameters:
policy_type: "smokefree_air", "medicaid_cessation", "licensure", "tax", "ecigarette" (required)state: State abbreviationvenue: "workplace", "restaurant", "bar", "government", "school", "all" (for smokefree_air only)year: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Examples:
Smokefree air legislation:
{
"method": "get_tobacco_policy",
"policy_type": "smokefree_air",
"venue": "restaurant",
"state": "CA"
}
Tobacco tax legislation:
{
"method": "get_tobacco_policy",
"policy_type": "tax",
"state": "NY",
"year": 2023
}
E-cigarette regulation:
{
"method": "get_tobacco_policy",
"policy_type": "ecigarette",
"state": "MA"
}
15. get_infectious_disease
Infectious disease surveillance (pneumococcal, foodborne, waterborne).
Parameters:
disease: "pneumococcal", "foodborne", "waterborne" (required)state: State abbreviationserotype: Pneumococcal serotype filter (e.g., "19A", "3")pathogen: Pathogen name for foodborne/waterborne (e.g., "Salmonella", "E. coli")year: Year filterlimit,offset: Pagination
Examples:
Pneumococcal disease by serotype:
{
"method": "get_infectious_disease",
"disease": "pneumococcal",
"serotype": "19A",
"year": 2023
}
Foodborne outbreaks:
{
"method": "get_infectious_disease",
"disease": "foodborne",
"pathogen": "Salmonella",
"state": "TX"
}
Phase 4 Methods: Critical Surveillance Gaps (3)
16. get_nndss_surveillance
National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System - real-time outbreak detection for 50+ diseases.
Parameters:
nndss_disease: "arboviral", "hepatitis", "tuberculosis", "rubella", "pertussis", "haemophilus", "qfever", "botulism", "all" (default: "all")year: Year filter (for historical TB data: 2014-2019)state: State abbreviationlimit,offset: Pagination
Examples:
Arboviral disease surveillance:
{
"method": "get_nndss_surveillance",
"nndss_disease": "arboviral",
"state": "FL",
"year": "2024"
}
Historical tuberculosis data:
{
"method": "get_nndss_surveillance",
"nndss_disease": "tuberculosis",
"year": "2019",
"state": "CA"
}
17. get_covid_vaccination
COVID-19 vaccination tracking with equity metrics.
Parameters:
vax_geography: "national", "state", "county" (default: "state")state: State abbreviationcounty: County nameequity_metrics: Include SVI and urban/rural classification (boolean)limit,offset: Pagination
Examples:
State-level vaccination rates:
{
"method": "get_covid_vaccination",
"vax_geography": "state",
"state": "TX"
}
County-level with equity metrics:
{
"method": "get_covid_vaccination",
"vax_geography": "county",
"state": "NY",
"county": "New York",
"equity_metrics": true
}
18. get_overdose_surveillance
Drug overdose crisis monitoring with drug-specific tracking.
Parameters:
overdose_geography: "national", "state", "county" (default: "state")drug_type: "opioid", "fentanyl", "heroin", "cocaine", "methamphetamine", "all" (default: "all")provisional: Use provisional data (true) or finalized (false) - default: truestate: State abbreviationcounty: County namelimit,offset: Pagination
Examples:
Fentanyl overdoses by state:
{
"method": "get_overdose_surveillance",
"overdose_geography": "state",
"drug_type": "fentanyl",
"state": "OH",
"provisional": true
}
County-level opioid deaths:
{
"method": "get_overdose_surveillance",
"overdose_geography": "county",
"drug_type": "opioid",
"county": "Alameda",
"state": "CA"
}
All overdoses (finalized data):
{
"method": "get_overdose_surveillance",
"overdose_geography": "national",
"drug_type": "all",
"provisional": false
}
Common PLACES Measure IDs
Chronic Diseases
DIABETES: Diagnosed diabetesOBESITY: Adult obesity (BMI ≥30)CHD: Coronary heart diseaseCOPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseASTHMA: Current asthmaSTROKE: StrokeBPHIGH: High blood pressureCANCER: Cancer (excluding skin cancer)KIDNEY: Chronic kidney diseaseARTHRITIS: Arthritis
Mental Health
DEPRESSION: DepressionMHLTH: Mental health not good for ≥14 days
Prevention
DENTAL: Annual dental visitACCESS2: Lack of health insurance (adults <65)CHECKUP: No annual checkupCHOLSCREEN: Cholesterol screeningCERVICAL: Cervical cancer screeningCOLON_SCREEN: Colorectal cancer screeningMAMMOUSE: Mammography
Risk Factors
CSMOKING: Current smokingBINGE: Binge drinkingLPA: No leisure-time physical activitySLEEP: Sleep <7 hours
Dataset Reference
Complete Dataset List (73)
Click to expand full dataset list
PLACES (5 datasets):
places_county_2024- County-level 2024places_county_2023- County-level 2023places_place_2024- City/town-level 2024places_tract_2024- Census tract-level 2024places_zcta_2024- ZIP code-level 2024
BRFSS (7 datasets):
brfss_comprehensive- 2011-present (30+ measures)brfss_obesity_national- National obesity trendsbrfss_obesity_state- State obesity prevalencebrfss_diabetes- Diabetes prevalencebrfss_asthma- Asthma prevalencebrfss_smart_county- Metropolitan county-levelbrfss_healthcare_access_historical- 1995-2010
Youth Health (2 datasets):
yrbss_high_school- Youth risk behaviorsyouth_nutrition_activity- Youth nutrition/activity
Respiratory (2 datasets):
respiratory_combined- RSV/COVID/Flu combinedrsv_hospitalizations- RSV-specific
Vaccination (5 datasets):
teen_vaccinations- HPV, Tdap, MenACWYflu_vaccination_coverage- All ages 6+ monthspregnant_vaccinations- Flu, Tdap during pregnancykindergarten_vaccinations- School entry rates
Vital Statistics (5 datasets):
vsrr_birth_quarterly- Birth indicatorsbirth_rates_age- Age-specific fertilityvsrr_quarterly_mortality- Mortality estimatesvsrr_maternal_mortality- Maternal deathsvsrr_infant_mortality- Infant mortality
Environmental (2 datasets):
air_quality_tracking- PM2.5, ozonewater_fluoridation- Fluoridation statistics
Tobacco (6 datasets):
sammec_smoking_impact- Economic costssmokefree_air_legislation- Smokefree lawsmedicaid_cessation_coverage- Cessation coveragetobacco_licensure- Retailer licensuretobacco_tax- Tax legislationecigarette_legislation- E-cigarette regulation
Injury (2 datasets):
tbi_surveillance- TBI surveillancealcohol_impaired_driving- Drunk driving deaths
Infectious Disease (2 datasets):
pneumococcal_disease- 25-year serotype datafoodborne_outbreaks- Foodborne/waterborne
Maternal-Child (3 datasets):
breastfeeding_nis- Breastfeeding ratespramstat_2009- PRAMS 2009
Oral/Vision (2 datasets):
oral_health_indicators- NOHSSvision_health- BRFSS vision module
Nutrition (3 datasets):
nutrition_obesity- Behavioralnutrition_policy_environmental- Policy/environmentalnutrition_commute_patterns- Commuting
Disease-Specific (4 datasets):
heart_disease_mortality- Heart diseasediabetes_indicators- Diabetes surveillancecancer_incidence- Cancer statisticscovid_cases- COVID-19
Historical (1 dataset):
- Already listed under BRFSS
NNDSS - National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance (14 datasets):
nndss_arboviral- Arboviral diseases (Zika, West Nile, etc.)nndss_hepatitis- Viral hepatitis A, B, Cnndss_tuberculosis- Current TB surveillancenndss_rubella- Rubella and congenital rubellanndss_pertussis- Whooping cough surveillancenndss_haemophilus- Haemophilus influenzae diseasenndss_qfever- Q fever surveillancenndss_botulism- Botulism surveillancenndss_tb_2019- Historical TB 2019nndss_tb_2018- Historical TB 2018nndss_tb_2017- Historical TB 2017nndss_tb_2016- Historical TB 2016nndss_tb_2015- Historical TB 2015nndss_tb_2014- Historical TB 2014
COVID-19 Vaccination (4 datasets):
covid_vax_jurisdiction- State/territory vaccination ratescovid_vax_county- County-level vaccination coveragecovid_vax_respiratory_weekly- Weekly respiratory virus vaccinationcovid_vax_age_trends- Age-stratified vaccination trends
Drug Overdose Surveillance (6 datasets):
overdose_provisional_state- Provisional state-level overdose deathsoverdose_county- County-level overdose mortalityoverdose_by_drug- Drug-specific overdose deathsoverdose_demographics- Demographic-stratified overdose dataoverdose_nowcast- Lag-adjusted overdose estimatesnchs_injury_mortality- Comprehensive injury mortality data
Rate Limiting
The server implements conservative rate limiting (500ms between requests):
- Without app token: Shared pool (may be throttled)
- With app token: 1,000 requests/hour
To increase limits, register for a free app token at https://data.cdc.gov/profile/app_tokens
Response Format
All methods return JSON with consistent structure:
{
"dataset": "places_county_2024",
"count": 58,
"data": [
{
"year": "2022",
"stateabbr": "CA",
"locationname": "Los Angeles County",
"measureid": "DIABETES",
"data_value": "11.2",
"data_value_unit": "%",
"low_confidence_limit": "10.8",
"high_confidence_limit": "11.6"
}
]
}
SoQL Query Language
CDC datasets support Socrata Query Language (SoQL):
Common Parameters
$select: Choose specific fields$where: Filter conditions$order: Sort results$limit: Max results$offset: Pagination start
Example SoQL Clauses
Filtering:
stateabbr='CA' AND data_value>15.0
year>=2020 AND year<=2024
measureid IN ('DIABETES', 'OBESITY', 'CHD')
Sorting:
data_value DESC
year ASC, data_value DESC
Data Sources
All data comes from official CDC sources: