Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to electronically distribute critical public health information using Adobe Acrobat

Business Wire, Jan 26, 1995

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 1995--Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) Thursday announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is using Adobe Acrobat software to publish vital public health information on the Internet, making critical, time-sensitive scientific and medical data instantly available to millions of people around the world.

CDC will electronically publish the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) series in Adobe's portable document format (PDF), an open file format created by Acrobat software that allows computer users to view and print an exact replica of an electronic document on virtually any computer or printer.

The MMWR series, which became the responsibility of CDC in 1961, are CDC's flagship publications. The publications provide timely distribution of public health information on a weekly basis. The MMWR reported the first AIDS cases in 1981. Other well-known topics published in the MMWR include information on the initial outbreaks of legionnaires disease and hantavirus in the Southwest.

"There is a great deal of disparity among computer hardware and software technologies, making it difficult to guarantee that critical data and graphic information can be distributed electronically with absolute certainty," said John Warnock, chief executive officer, Adobe Systems Inc.

"When distributing information on matters of public health, accuracy and timeliness can have a real impact on people's lives. Acrobat software provides a common denominator for computers so that government agencies and businesses can reach the greatest number of people as quickly and effectively as possible."

The MMWR will be available on the Internet every Friday. Users can access the PDF version of the MMWR through CDC's FTP file server at ftp.cdc.gov or at http://www.cdc.gov/ through the World Wide Web.

Adobe Acrobat Reader software is required to view or print PDF versions of the MMWR. Free Acrobat Reader software is available on the Internet from CDC, Adobe Systems and other Internet locations, as well as from many on-line services and bulletin board systems.

CDC joins a growing number of government agencies using Acrobat software to more effectively and efficiently distribute information electronically. The Department of Commerce, Department of the Navy, Social Security Administration, Government Printing Office, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Internal Revenue Service all use Acrobat software to offer public documents through the Internet, on-line services and other electronic methods.

Adobe Systems Inc., founded in 1982, is headquartered in Mountain View. Adobe develops, markets and supports computer software products and technologies that enable users to create, display, print and communicate electronic documents.

The company licenses its technology to major computer, printing, and publishing suppliers, and markets a line of application software and type products for authoring visually rich documents. Additionally, the company markets a line of powerful, but easy to use, products for home and small business use.

Adobe has subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim, serving a worldwide network of dealers and distributors. Revenue for fiscal 1994 was approximately $598 million.

-O-

Note to Editors: Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc., which may be registered in certain jurisdictions.

CONTACT: Adobe Systems Inc., Mountain View

Rick Brown, 415/962-6060