Feb. 16 (UPI) — A quarter of the personnel working in nearly 5 dozen U.S. laboratories trying to solve the latest avian influenza outbreak have been laid off as part of the Trump administration’s plan to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
The firings come amid an ongoing runup in the price of eggs during a time when President Donald Trump has vowed to “end inflation” and reduce the price of groceries.
The cuts come at the USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network, which manages data and ensures consistency in labs doing the testing while tracking animal disease outbreaks, making sure they follow similar protocols and standards.
Some labs were informed that testing and other responses to the H5N1 flu would be slower following the layoffs, according to Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
They’re the front line of surveillance for the entire outbreak,” Poulsen told Politico. “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.”
Thousands of other USDA employees were informed that they,too, would lose their jobs as part of the Trump administration’s downsizing effort.
Newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brookje Rollins, convened a briefing with ag officials on her first day in office to address the bird flu.
Officials said responses to other outbreaks, including African swine fever and foot and mouth disease could also be affected.
The current outbreak of avian flu is said to be responsible for the death of at least 100 million birds since the start of the most recent outbreak in 2022, including 22 million in the last month, according to the latest USDA data.
Over the last year, H5N1 has spread to dairy cattle, infecting the majority of herds in California’s, and is responsible for outbreaks in at least a dozen other states.
Officials announced another recent outbreak in Arizona, suggesting that health experts do not yet have the virus contained.
The latest consumer price index shows that egg princes, averaging $4.95 a dozen nationally, are likely to continue to keep rising. That’s up from $1.46 a dozen 5 years ago.
