CDC pauses diagnostic testing for several infectious diseases
The federal government’s disease-tracking agency has paused its diagnostic testing for rabies, monkeypox and a number of other infectious diseases, reports BritPanorama.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week posted a list of more than two dozen types of testing that have become unavailable.
This is not the first time the CDC has paused some of its lab testing. However, it is pausing more kinds of tests than ever before, and it remains unclear why this decision was made, said Scott Becker, chief executive officer of the Association of Public Health Laboratories.
A government spokesman described the pause as temporary, attributing it to “a routine review to uphold our commitment to high-quality laboratory testing.”
“We anticipate some of these tests will be available through CDC labs again in the coming weeks. In the meantime, CDC stands ready to support our state and local partners to access the public health testing they need,” stated Andrew Nixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC.
CDC’s laboratory operations faced criticism during the COVID-19 pandemic and were scrutinized in a subsequent work group’s review. The agency has been evaluating its testing processes since 2024, Becker noted.
There are other potential reasons for suspending tests, including staffing issues, he added.
The pausing of lab testing follows a significant reduction in CDC staff over the past year due to layoffs, retirements, resignations, and the nonrenewal of temporary appointments. Estimates suggest staffing has diminished by 20% to 25%, affecting various divisions of the agency, including laboratories.
The poxvirus and rabies labs reportedly lost about half their prior staff, while the CDC’s malaria branch faced even greater reductions, according to the National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers formed in response to the downsizing.
Some of the paused testing includes common infections for which commercial testing is available, such as the Epstein-Barr virus and the varicella zoster virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles. The suspension also impacts testing for rarer pathogens, including parasitic worms that cause “snail fever” and the virus that leads to “sloth fever.”
Specialized state labs, like those in New York and California, have the capacity to cover the gaps while CDC tests are on hold, Becker stated.
He expressed concern about these pauses “only if it’s permanent.”
