Bird Flu Studies Delayed as White House Halts CDC Reports

FRIDAY, Jan. 31, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- As a bird flu outbreak escalates across the U.S., the Trump administration has paused the release of key public health studies, stalling research that could provide insight into how the virus spreads to animals and people.

The blocked studies were supposed to be published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a respected journal that has reported on health threats since 1952.

One of the studies examines whether veterinarians working with cattle have unknowingly been infected, and another explores whether people may have passed the virus to pet cats, according to CNN. 

These reports could help scientists track and prevent future infections.

But a new memo from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has placed an “immediate pause” on communications. Approval is now required from a presidential appointee before publishing, according to the memo.

“This idea that science cannot continue until there’s a political lens over it is unprecedented,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former principal deputy director at the CDC, told CNN. “I hope it’s going to be very short-lived, but if it’s not short-lived, it’s censorship.”

Public health experts warn that delaying research on bird flu could put veterinarians, farmworkers and the public at greater risk.

One study, slated to be published last week in the MMWR, looked at cases in Michigan where dairy workers may have transmitted bird flu to their pet cats.

Dr. Jennifer Morse, medical director at the Mid-Michigan District Health Department and a scientist on the pending study, told CNN she got a note from a colleague last week saying that “there are delays in our publication — outside of our control.”

And this isn't the first time the government has disrupted CDC reports.

During President Donald Trump's first term, CNN noted, White House officials interfered with scientific studies on COVID-19. 

“What’s happening now is quite different than what we experienced in covid, because there wasn’t a stop in the MMWR and other scientific manuscripts,” Schuchat told CNN.

CDC insiders say the pause will last until at least Feb. 6, though it’s unclear if publishing will resume as scheduled.

The bird flu has infected at least 67 people in the U.S., and claiming the life of one person in Louisiana earlier this year.

It's affected more than 148 million birds and heightened concern about human transmission.

“Maintaining open lines of communication and continuing research with our federal partners is critical as we fight this outbreak.” Dr. Fred Gingrich, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, a group for veterinarians specializing in cattle medicine, told CNN.

Schuchat hopes efforts to spin or influence scientific reports won’t happen again. 

“The MMWR cannot become a political instrument,” she concluded in a report published by CNN.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the current situation of bird flu.

SOURCE: CNN, media report, Jan. 30, 2025; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention