State officials are concerned about the the Trump administration’s workforce cuts and budget reductions, which have affected federal labs and public health agencies crucial to tracking and controlling the H5N1 bird flu outbreak.

Officials fear that these cuts, along with the removal of public health data from government websites, could hinder surveillance and response efforts. Experts warn that continued spread among dairy cattle and wildlife increases the risk of mutation, emphasizing the need for robust testing, surveillance and public health strategies.

Helping dairy and poultry farmworkers get tested is important for public health response. But many farmworkers are immigrants with no sick leave and who may speak primarily Indigenous languages or Spanish. The Trump administration’s deportation efforts have caused further reticence to report symptoms, says Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of geography and the environment. 

“You have a population of workers who don’t have access to health care to begin with,” she says, noting how many dairy farm laborers live in rural or remote places far from city centers. “You have this geographical barrier. You have a linguistic barrier. You have a cultural barrier. And then, of course, today, you have on top of it a lot of fear.”

Read more in the Stateline article, “As bird flu spreads, feds might undercut states by firing scientists, removing data.”