The Trump administration has disrupted the US response to avian flu as the outbreak worsened, causing confusion and concern among federal staff, state officials, veterinarians and health experts, 11 sources say Reuters He spoke to.
Since Donald Trump took office on January 20, two federal agencies responsible for monitoring and responding to the outbreak have withdrew from reporting bird flu and cancelled meetings with Congressional briefings and state health officials. The source said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) withheld two reports on the transmission of avian flu and two reports on surveillance, and cancelled several meetings on avian flu with state officials.
The CDC and the USDA (USDA) did not give a Congressional briefing for three weeks. The USDA did not respond to state officials’ requests for information regarding new programs to protect the country’s food supply, sources said.
The results show concern that important information about avian flu is not spreading in a timely or at all, even if more people and livestock tests are positive for the virus.
“You can say the confusion surrounding the message and who is complicating the issue at a bad time,” said Keith Poursen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostics Institute.
Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) also prevents information sharing, allowing authorities to track virus outbreaks and tensions in other countries, three sources said.
The CDC says the risk to the general public from avian flu remains low. However, the rise in outbreaks in U.S. livestock and humans raised concern among scientists that the virus could mutate in a way that allows it to be transmitted from person to person.
Avian influenza has infected nearly 70 people in the US since April, killing one. Since its infestation in 2022, it has wiped out approximately 159 million chickens, turkeys and other birds nationwide. The prices of US eggs skyrocketed to record highs and exempt Trump’s pledge to cut costs for Americans.
The USDA on February 5th said concerns about the spread of dairy cows have been infected with a second strain of avian flu.
Before Trump took office, federal officials were in regular contact with state officials and industry groups as part of the US response to the biggest animal health emergency in history.
The USDA said it continues to communicate regularly with other federal agencies.
CDC has not released two bird flu reports scheduled to be released on January 23rd, due to a long and unusual review process, according to two sources with knowledge of agency activities.
One of the weekly reports of CDC morbidity and mortality describes the first avian influenza infection among cats that do not have access to the outdoors. The other is a report on monitoring of poultry and Oregon wastewater near dairy farms, according to screenshots of an internal overview seen by Reuters.
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For decades, these weekly reports have been a way for the CDC to convey important information to local health officials and clinicians to ensure patients are properly treated and protected, according to the University of California, Berkeley. said Arthur Rainkold, professor of epidemiology at .
“Frankly, it’s extraordinary to slow down, delay or disrupt such communication,” Rainkord said.
The US last week did not attend a meeting of experts looking at influenza strains, including H5N1 avian flu, said Scott Prendergast, director of the WHO Health Emergency Team.
“We no longer have communication about what’s going on in the US,” Prendagast said.
Minnesota, at least one state, is struggling to get information from the USDA regarding avian flu.
The state’s Animal Health Board had not received responses to a question raised in January about the USDA program to increase turkey testing to protect U.S. food supplies.
Other actions from the Trump administration, including a planned freeze on federal funding, have been disruptive, she said.
“Indeed, chaotic messaging can reach the state level and ultimately affect the farmers who produce our food,” Voss said.
