USDA Accidentally Fires Bird Flu Response Workers

NBC News’ Allan Smith, Melanie Zanona and Laura Strickler reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired ‘several’ agency employees who are working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. The agency said it is now trying to quickly reverse the firings.”

“‘Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,’ a USDA spokesperson said in a statement,” according to Smith, Zanona and Strickler’s reporting. “‘USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission.'”

“The spokesperson noted that several agency positions were already exempted from the sweeping cuts President Donald Trump’s administration is making across the federal government, adding that the Agriculture Department ‘continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza,'” Smith, Zanona and Strickler reported.

“The error is the latest in the Trump administration’s attempts to rapidly shrink the size of the government by conducting mass firings of federal workers — an effort that is being carried out by tech billionaire Elon Musk and the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which is heavily staffed by people who have no experience in government,” Smith, Zanona and Strickler reported. “On Friday, the administration tried to notify some nuclear safety employees who were fired last week that they are now due to be reinstated — but struggled to find them because they didn’t have their new contact information.”

New Ag Secretary Welcomes DOGE at USDA

The Des Moines Register’s Donelle Eller reported that “speaking to USDA employees as she took office Friday, Trump’s newly confirmed agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, said she was welcoming DOGE’s efforts to streamline the department ‘because we know that its work makes us better, stronger, faster, and more efficient.'”

“Rollins, in a transcription of her remarks provided by the USDA, added that she ‘will expect full access and transparency to DOGE in the days and weeks to come from everyone at this Department, and I will personally set that example as they proceed,'” Eller reported. “Both NBC and Politico reported she had held a meeting with department officials on bird flu Friday. It was not known what was discussed.”

Current State of the Bird Flu Outbreak

Yahoo News’ Kate Murphy reported that “bird flu is spreading across the United States, causing egg shortages and soaring prices at supermarkets and restaurants — however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the current public health risk is low.”

“The CDC’s website currently indicates there are 68 confirmed human cases of bird flu across 11 states, with one death in Louisiana associated with the H5N1 infection. As of Feb. 18, Wyoming’s and Ohio’s human cases bring the total to 70 confirmed human cases of bird flu across 13 states,” Murphy reported. “In recent months, cases of avian influenza have increased in animals, including poultry, wild birds, dairy cows and even pet cats. Nearly 23 million birds were affected by the virus in January, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since February 2022, over 138 million birds have been infected by H5N1.”

Industry Divided on Trump Admin Desire to Utilize Bird Flu Vaccines

Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies reported that “the Trump administration plans to make vaccination a central part of its strategy to control bird flu, even as farm industry groups are divided on whether that’s the best approach.”

“Potential loss of exports is at the heart of opposition to a vaccine. The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council says many trading partners do not allow imports of vaccinated birds or other animals from a country where poultry is vaccinated,” Davies reported. “‘Most countries do not recognize countries that vaccinate as free of HPAI due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the disease,’ USAPEEC says. ‘Therefore, they do not accept exports from countries that do vaccinate – either for specific product categories that are vaccinated, regions that vaccinate, or for all poultry from the country.'”

In addition, Davies reported that Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said that “it’s not as simple as a solution in a syringe. You’re talking about vaccinating hundreds of millions of birds, and it’s still an injection-based vaccine, and you need to vaccinate every one very quickly, in a very organized manner, because as soon as you start using vaccine, you’re going to start pressuring further reassortment [of the virus], and then you still have to think about, how is this going to impact international trade?”

“Poulsen said that while vaccinating ‘will decrease mortality and lower the amount of virus in the environment, it doesn’t stop infection, and birds in a flock will still shed some virus,’ resulting in depopulation,” Davies reported.

“However, the National Milk Producers Federation, International Dairy Foods Association, United Egg Producers, and National Turkey Federation wrote Rollins last week in support of vaccination,” Davies reported. “The groups’ leaders asked USDA ‘and its federal partners [to] bring a new sense of urgency and preparedness to the ongoing response by supporting the development of effective H5N1 vaccinations for dairy cows, turkeys and egg-laying hens that can be deployed to ensure this virus does not continue to negatively impact U.S. public and animal health.'”