In a sweeping decision by the Trump administration, 25% of the staff in the USDA's National Animal Health Laboratory Network program office were abruptly laid off. This mass firing affects a crucial office responsible for responding to significant animal disease outbreaks like African swine fever and foot and mouth disease. The office, which employs only 14 people, plays a pivotal role in managing these threats, and the layoffs are raising concerns about the potential impact on efforts to combat such diseases.
Egg prices have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels due to a worsening outbreak that has led to shortages in some grocery stores. The avian influenza virus has devastated bird populations, killing over 100 million birds since the outbreak began in 2022. In just the past 30 days, 22 million birds have been lost, contributing to the current crisis. The virus has not only affected poultry but has also spread to dairy cattle, notably infecting the majority of California's herds. This has resulted in outbreaks across more than a dozen states, with a recent spillover event in Arizona affecting dairy cattle.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently confirmed this third spillover event, highlighting the emergence of a new strain of the virus that infects another species—a concerning development that underscores the importance of robust disease surveillance.
“They’re the front line of surveillance for the entire outbreak,” – Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
The layoffs come as part of a larger initiative by the Trump administration to aggressively shrink the federal government. Thousands of USDA employees across various agencies have received notifications that they will lose their jobs. Most of those affected are new hires, which poses a significant risk to the department's capacity to respond effectively to ongoing and future outbreaks.
“They’re already underwater and they are constantly short-staffed, so if you take all the probationary staff out, you’ll take out the capacity to do the work.” – Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
The decision to reduce staffing levels at such a critical time has drawn criticism from various stakeholders who fear it will undermine efforts to control and prevent animal disease outbreaks. The potential long-term consequences could be severe, especially as these diseases have far-reaching implications for food security and public health.
