Work resumes at federal public health agencies

CDC Building

CDC/James Gathany

Congressional agreement on a funding bill that reopened government yesterday got the gears turning again with several key public health tasks, such as flu surveillance, science communication, and lab testing.

Within hours of President Obama's signing of the legislation, some of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Twitter accounts crackled to life again, including one used by its director, Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, who wrote, "So relieved to have the best and brightest back to work protecting and promoting health. Hope for no relapse…"

Government employees who had been furloughed were asked to return yesterday. At the CDC all but 4,000 of about 13,000 employees were furloughed. A few were called back to manage a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to three Foster Farms processing facilities in California.

Barbara Reynolds, PhD, who directs the CDC's division of public affairs, was the point person who fielded media queries while many of her colleagues were furloughed. She told CIDRAP News yesterday that the CDC is operating as it did before the shutdown, and that its scientists and health officials can resume needed travel and attend meetings.

Throughout the day yesterday, the CDC posted several notices on its Web site signaling that its activities were returning to normal. It posted a notice that its weekly FluView surveillance reports would return today, but in an abbreviated form, after a 2-week absence.

The lack of reports created an information void during the first weeks of the new flu season, but unofficial sources, plus the CDC's report today, point to little activity..

The CDC also authors key health publications, and those were shuttered, too, during the government shutdown. However, yesterday it posted an abbreviated version of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which featured a report on the availability of an assay for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including rifampin-resistant strains.

Meanwhile, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to meet Oct 23 and 24, and a final agenda for the event now appears on the CDC Web site.

At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Nicole Lurie, MD, assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR), tweeted, "The dedicated professionals at ASPR are back to preparing the nation and its communities to respond to and recover from disasters."

In the shutdown contingency plan, staffing was maintained at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA for "safety of human life" activities such as certain inspections and high-risk recalls. For example, during the shutdown the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health advisory about the Foster Farms chicken.

Meat, poultry, and egg inspections continued, as USDA inspectors stayed on the job. However, the shutdown stalled the FDA's routine establishment inspections and most lab research needed for public health decision-making.

During the shutdown the National Institutes of Health (NIH) assured all grant applicants that they would get a fair review, but the funding lapse was causing delays. Francis Collins, MD, PhD, NIH director, said in Twitter posts today that the agency has announced new due dates for grant applications and has new information on post-shutdown review timelines.

See also:

Oct 18 ACIP final agenda

Oct 18 CDC FluView

Tom Frieden Twitter feed

Francis Collins Twitter feed

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