Public-interest groups called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today to release updated public information critical to tracking and combatting the escalating bird flu outbreak.
Today’s urgent request for the latest information on the bird flu’s spread comes as the Trump administration “accidentally” fired 25% of the federal staffers in the office coordinating the response to the outbreak, one of President Trump’s sweeping actions over the past few weeks to gut critical government programs.
Under Trump the CDC has stopped publishing regular reports on its bird flu response activities and has reportedly omitted numerous studies on the outbreak from its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. For weeks the administration also withheld information from the public indicating that house cats may be transmitting the virus to humans.
“There’s no way Americans can protect themselves from bird flu unless the Trump administration stops recklessly withholding the latest information on where and how it’s spreading,” said Hannah Connor, deputy environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The most effective way to slow an outbreak of this magnitude is to routinely keep us all well informed. The Trump administration’s withholding of those details puts us at the mercy of the virus.”
Avian influenza has surged across the United States since 2022, infecting at least 162 million poultry and wild aquatic birds since the outbreak began. In the past year alone, it has been detected for the first time in several of the country’s mammal species, including cows, goats, pigs and federally protected polar bears. Transmission to cows has caused a multistate outbreak at dairy-farming operations with nearly 1,000 herds affected so far.
People, especially those who live and work in farming communities, are increasingly at risk from the virus as it mutates and evolves. Seventy people are known to have been infected by bird flu during this U.S. outbreak, most of whom were associated with chicken or dairy-farming operations. One patient, who was exposed in connection with a backyard chicken flock, has died.
“As this virus mutates and the risk increases of it moving to people from their pet cats, it’s more important than ever that the government is honest with the public about the evolving threat we face,” said Connor. “Without that information the Trump administration is doing more to spread the disease than stop it. No one voted to worsen this deadly bird flu outbreak and muzzle our public-health system.”
The virus’s explosive spread at egg-laying operations has caused a shock in the egg supply, driving record-high prices nationwide. In just the past month, more than 21.2 million egg-laying hens have been killed by the virus or culled in response to outbreaks.
Informing Americans about this disease and its prevention remains an essential component of an effective public-health response. In a May 2024 letter, the Center and allies encouraged the CDC to increase its bird flu response activities, including improved data sharing. The progress of the disease since then underscores the need for a strong government response to the outbreak.
Today’s letter was delivered to the CDC by the Center for Biological Diversity, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Better Food Foundation, Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, Center for Food Safety, Chilis on Wheels, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Compassion in World Farming USA, Direct Action Everywhere, Earthjustice, Farm Aid, Farm Forward, FarmSTAND, Food Animal Concerns Trust, Food System Innovations, Friends of the Earth, Humane World for Animals, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mercy for Animals, New Roots Institute, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, Nutrient Density Alliance, Plant Based Treaty, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, The Transfarmation Project, Winyah Rivers Alliance, and World Animal Protection.