US FDA suspends program to improve bird flu testing as federal gov鈥檛 cuts staff
THE US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is suspending efforts to improve its bird flu testing of milk, cheese and pet food due to massive staff cuts at the agency, according to an e-mail seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the situation.
The FDA鈥檚 testing for bird flu in dairy products has found that pasteurization kills the virus, and has also provided clues to the scope of the virus鈥檚 spread. At least two house cats have died after eating raw pet food that later tested positive for bird flu.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the FDA, began firing 10,000 employees to comply with President Donald Trump鈥檚 push to shrink the federal workforce, an effort overseen by billionaire ally Elon Musk.
The Interlaboratory Comparison Exercise for detecting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was set to launch later this month but was suspended on Thursday because of cuts to staff at the FDA鈥檚 Human Food Program that would have supported the scientific and testing needs of the program, the e-mail said.
The program would have included more than 40 laboratories across FDA鈥檚 Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN) and USDA鈥檚 National Animal Health Laboratory Network, as well as FDA food labs and private industry, said the e-mail, which was sent to network laboratories from the Vet-LIRN program office.
鈥(The program) would have been critical to ensure confidence in the laboratory methods for food safety and animal health,鈥 the e-mail said.
HHS did not immediately respond to questions about the suspension of the program and what, if any, impact it would have on FDA鈥檚 bird flu testing efforts.
The FDA handles testing of consumer dairy products for bird flu, while the US Department of Agriculture tests bulk milk before it is sent for processing. An ongoing bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle has infected nearly 1,000 herds, according to USDA data.
The coordination effort would have served as a quality assurance program to ensure reliable results in the FDA鈥檚 bird flu testing of dairy products and pet food, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Similar coordination programs at the FDA ensure reliability in testing for salmonella and other pathogens, the source said. 鈥 Reuters
