As government agencies prepare for possible shutdowns, the top concern for many public health and agriculture officials is how the government will respond to a potentially rapidly spreading H5N1 avian influenza pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the dairy industry and the new National Milk Testing Strategy — a program implemented last week that will test the nation’s milk supply for the H5N1 virus when fully operational — did not receive a reply. Questions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that were redirected to Human Health Services also did not receive a response.
“A government shutdown is unnecessary and will put a strain on our public health system at a time when we must monitor and respond to growing public health threats,” said Rep. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento.
Vela said that while he expects the CDC and FDA to retain necessary staff to monitor the outbreak, “these agencies will not be operating at full capacity. There should not be any unnecessary obstacles that hinder federal, state and local efforts to monitor the outbreak.” A comprehensive response has been adopted to address this growing public health problem.
Because much of the H5N1 influenza response is coordinated at the county and state levels, many aspects of the outbreak response will continue, including field surveillance, testing, and reporting.
At a news conference Friday, California Epidemiologist Erica Pan and state veterinarian Annette Jones said they expect the vast majority of their colleagues in the federal government to continue to provide support and assistance.
“Our colleagues at the CDC have taken note that they are… aggressively pursuing a response and they will continue to do so even if the federal government shuts down,” Pan said.
Jones said USDA veterinarians and “other specialists” were granted exemptions during previous shutdowns, “so we anticipate and hope they will receive similar exemptions this time around.”
That said, problems can arise.
Rick Bright, a virologist and former director of the U.S. Department of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development, said: “The federal government shutdown may reduce the ability to confirm H5N1 cases, obtain and report genomic surveillance data, and slow the flow of data to other countries. National and international partners provide updated speeds. “With most factories shut down, there are still a small number of essential employees who need to report to work. However, these are mostly senior managers rather than general laboratory workers.
Bright said the secretary of Health and Human Services “has some discretion to determine priorities that must continue, although that is typically exercised when an emergency is declared.”
While Governor Gavin Newsom declared an avian flu emergency in California, the U.S. government has not yet declared one.
Bright said state governments and agencies may continue to collect milk samples, “but those samples that will be shipped to the USDA for testing will not be processed until the government reopens.”
Brian Richards, emerging diseases coordinator at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center, said in an email Thursday that a network of national animal health laboratory laboratories, such as the University of California, Davis, tests milk. The labs are usually run by universities and so are likely to remain operational.
But it’s unclear whether the National Veterinary Surveillance Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, which is currently conducting avian influenza validation testing on animals, will remain open.
Richards said it’s unclear whether the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will remain open and, if so, how many staffing it might have. “I think all but a few of the ‘key’ positions are closed.”
There is also no information on the fate of communications staff at these agencies. Currently, the USDA and CDC provide the public with information about the outbreak, including live counts of the number of people who have tested positive for the disease, dairy herds, commercial poultry herds, wildlife and birds.
On Friday, the CDC reported that 61 people have been infected with the virus in 2024.
California has been a hotspot for H5N1 outbreaks, representing the vast majority of infected cattle and more than half of all humans infected with the virus. This is also where three raw milk producers were quarantined and recalled, and each wastewater system was tested by WastewaterScan. Is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
Wastewater scans included samples from 29 locations across the state, including areas around San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego. While one site in Turlock, home to several dairy processing plants, has seen positive results since August, a huge gap remains in the Central Valley.
The USDA’s 2024 government shutdown “contingency plan” states that there are some “excepted” activities that will not be affected by the funding freeze. These include “emergency situations in which suspending the function would immediately threaten the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
It’s unclear whether the federal government considers outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in livestock and wildlife an “emergency.”
Similar CDC emergency response plans are more detailed, but the fate of avian influenza surveillance, testing and investigation remains unclear.
According to the document, the agency will continue to respond to “public health and natural emergencies, manage high-risk recalls, conduct criminal enforcement efforts and civil investigations related to imminent threats to human life … and conduct cause-cause inspections of regulated facilities.” , monitoring adverse event reports, as appropriate, to identify issues that may result in human harm, and other critical activities that support the immediate safety of human life.”
Additionally, the document states that staff should continue to address “other significant public health challenges, including drug shortages and outbreaks related to foodborne and infectious diseases.”
The document states that more than 40,000 employees may be furloughed, while nearly 50,000 employees will continue to work.
