Oct 22, 2025
3 min read
The annual Infectious Diseases Conference, which hosts several infectious diseases meetings, is in part because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot attend.
The government shutdown means many CDC experts are skipping important meetings about the pandemic.
ATLANTA (AP) - CDC researchers are being forced to skip a key infectious disease conference this week because of the government shutdown, without missing out on top-level discussions after a surge in measles and whooping cough hit the US.
IDWeek, the nation's largest annual gathering of infectious disease experts, is the premier place for experts to share information on diagnosing, treating and preventing threats including bird flu, superbugs and HIV, among many other topics.
CDC usually sends dozens of researchers and researchers.But of the hundreds of speakers listed in the four-day conference's printed program, about 10 were identified as CDC scientists at the conference.And even a small number did not appear.
The main reason is the government shutdown that started from October 1.
The problems were clearly long before the shutdown
The pandemic chose Atlanta, where the CDC is located, as its host more than a year ago.
When organizers agreed that sports should be held at the "heart of public health," Dr. Joey Do Doni, who helped organize the meeting, was more than happy to crucify the Pittsburgh D.D.
But shortly after President Donald Trump took office, he put an immediate, albeit temporary, freeze on CDC reporting and attending medical meetings.This was followed by layoffs and cuts in research funding.
"As things started to develop, they said they could be more involved," Doy said of CDC spokespeople.
The risk of disease is very low
The CDC's absence comes as infectious disease specialists are in high demand, following the worst pandemic of the century a few years ago.Measles and whooping cough are on the rise.New guidelines are constantly emerging.
I.S. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to focus primarily on infectious diseases, although he is an anti-vaccine voice because he wants him to do so.
CDC has already lost a quarter of its staff through layoffs, takeovers, resignations and other actions.And the Trump administration is seeking to fire hundreds more whose actions have been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
"It's the most painful irony of all" to see this action by the administration amid a serious threat, said Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota.
Osterholm, who spoke at Sunday's briefing, said he is working with others to do the CDC's job.
He announced the release of a new public publication called Public Health Alerts, which will contain reports that form the basis of the CDC's weekly Pink and Blue Report.
Separately, the cooperation related to the establishment of dozens is the source of funds to finance some of the diseases research on the disease the government has not stopped cooperating, said Osterholm.
"It's no longer business as usual, but that doesn't mean we have to sit back and accept it," Osterholm said.
The conference sponsor clashed with Kennedy
HHS did not encourage federal collaboration with medical organizations, including IDSA, until the CDC's chief medical officer resigned in August, Dr. Debra Khoury said.
HHS spokeswoman Emily Hillard said the agency believes federal scientists should share their research and expertise with their colleagues and the public, and that conferences are "reviewed to ensure compliance with ethical standards and responsible use of taxpayer funds."
Annaf, Refebous doctor's doctor to push decisions this week, it is not spending summarized in the study. And he told him.
Other CDC scientists were in a similar situation, he said, and it's not known if they could come up with as many solutions.Some of the findings of these studies will not be shared with researchers and physicians who may use the data.
Yousaf is currently on leave due to the government shutdown and said she is not speaking in an official capacity.
"It seems to me that the goal of HHS is to prevent the dissemination of scientific information," she said."It's crazy."
The Associated Press Health Department and Science Department received support in science from the Howard Hughes Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.AP is solely responsible for all content.
