This episode of Food Safety Five discusses recent events at CDC, from the loss of officials to program cuts, and how these changes are impacting food safety work.
In light of the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) bird flu outbreak affecting North American dairy cattle, a new CDC report concluded that the risk of contracting bird flu from raw milk and dairy is “low, but theoretically possible.”
In two letters, thousands of public health professionals from dozens of stakeholder groups and federal agencies have called for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), saying he is making Americans “less safe in a multitude of ways,” including food safety.
Following the firing of former CDC Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D. on August 27, HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, who has no medical or infectious disease training, has been named CDC Acting Director.
Nominated by President Trump and confirmed in July, CDC Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D., was fired after scientific clashes with HHS Secretary Kennedy (RFK Jr.) and refusing to dismiss three veteran officials, who also departed CDC shortly after her termination was finalized.
Citing insufficient funding, CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) program has reduced surveillance from eight important foodborne pathogens to just two—Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC).
A Trace One analysis of U.S. foodborne illness data reported to CDC reveals which states have the highest incidence of foodborne illness, which pathogens cause the greatest number of foodborne illnesses, and the months of the year in which foodborne illnesses are most common.
On July 29, the Senate confirmed Trump Nominee Susan Monarez, Ph.D. as the new director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is an immunologist and microbiologist, and the agency’s first non-physician Director in more than 70 years.
Through its annual mentorship program, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), with support from CDC, has awarded $356,000 to local health departments across the country to expand their wastewater monitoring efforts. Wastewater monitoring can be a useful tool for foodborne illness outbreak surveillance.
As of May 30, 45 people across 18 states have been infected, compared to 26 people across 15 states who had been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella as of May 19.
