https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/trump-cdc-cuts-include-epidemic-intelligence-service-outbreak-investigators/ Skip to Main Content STAT * Manage alerts for this article * Email this article * Share this article Donald Trump NIH FDA * Newsletters * Log In * My Account * Subscribe Now My Account * Settings Complete your personal information for a more tailored experience * Billing * Log Out STAT Reporting from the frontiers of health and medicine * Newsletters * Log In * My Account * Subscribe Now * Biotech * Pharma * Public Health * Health Tech * Policy * Science * First Opinion * STAT+ * STAT Events * STAT [ ] Search * Log In * Try STAT+ * My Account Home News * Latest * Business + Biotech + Pharma + Health Tech + Health Insurance + Hospitals + Medical Devices * Washington + Policy + FDA + CDC + NIH * Science + CRISPR + Gene Therapy + Research + Neuroscience * Public Health + H5N1 Bird Flu + Addiction + Covid-19 + Abortion + Health Disparities + Infectious Disease + Mental Health * Disease + Cancer + Cardiovascular Disease + Chronic Disease + Diabetes + Alzheimer's + Obesity * Features + Coercive Care + The Obesity Revolution + The War on Recovery Newsletters Opinion Columns * Adam Feuerstein * Matthew Herper * Ed Silverman Reports E-books Podcasts Tools & Trackers * CRISPR Tracker * Breakthrough Device Tracker * Generative AI Tracker * Obesity Drug Tracker Events * Upcoming Events * Summits * 2025 Breakthrough East * 2025 Breakthrough West Community * STAT Wunderkinds '24 * STAT Madness Video Advertise * STAT Brand Studio Don't miss out Subscribe to STAT+ today, for the best life sciences journalism in the industry Learn more Health CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a 'crown jewel' of public health EIS officers investigate disease outbreaks and health threats in the U.S. and abroad * Manage alerts for this article * Email this article * Share this article pidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers, at the Connecticut State Public Health Laboratory, examining antimicrobial resistance patterns in bacterial isolates that were part of a multistate outbreak. Epidemic Intelligence Service officers investigate a multi-state bacterial disease outbreak.Meghan Maloney/CDC [helen-b-av] By Helen Branswell Feb. 14, 2025 Senior Writer, Infectious Diseases The Trump administration's campaign to slash the federal civil service will hit one of the crown jewels of global public health on Friday. Members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a legendary training program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were warned on Friday morning that they were about to be fired, two people with knowledge of the meeting told STAT. The members of the two-year program were informed that many would be hearing of their dismissals by late day. It is believed there will be only a few exceptions: people who are in the Public Health Service and military officers who had been on the CDC staff before entering the program. A typical class contains between 60 and 80 members. advertisement The EIS, as it is known, is the world's premier training program for applied epidemiology. Many public health leaders at the CDC and elsewhere in the world are graduates of the EIS, which was established in 1951 by the CDC's then-chief epidemiologist Alexander Langmuir, in part because of Cold War era concerns about the threat of germ warfare. EIS officers make up the frontline in public health emergencies, both in the United States and abroad. When a difficult disease outbreak hits, when state health departments need assistance tracing the source of foodborne illnesses, EIS officers are dispatched. They were among the first responders when letters laced with anthrax were mailed to legislators and news outlets around the country in 2001. They were even portrayed on the big screen: In the 2011 Steven Soderbergh movie Contagion, about the start of a pandemic, Kate Winslet's character was an EIS officer sent to investigate the unnerving new disease that an American businesswoman had unwittingly transported to Minneapolis. Related Story [AP17023711999843-768x432] Trump administration to fire thousands at health agencies "For more than 70 years, EIS officers have served on America's front line as its disease detectives, ready at a moment's notice to protect Americans by responding to emerging outbreaks here in the U.S. and around the globe," said former CDC director Tom Frieden, who is president and CEO of the non-profit Resolve to Save Lives. "The loss of this next generation of highly qualified leaders will make our nation -- and the world -- less safe, and less prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats." The fact that the cuts might decimate a program that has repeatedly proved its worth caught many in the public health world by surprise. advertisement "This will destroy the EIS, which is one of the absolute crown jewels of global public health," said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Members of the EIS are highly trained experts -- people with Ph.D.s and medical degrees make up the bulk of EIS classes, though veterinarians, pharmacists, and nurses with advanced degrees are also among the members. Many stay with the agency following their EIS training; others join state public health departments. "It was in the Epidemic Intelligence Service that I fell in love with public health and saw firsthand the power it held to save lives and protect health," said Richard Besser, who went from the EIS into the CDC and was acting director at the start of the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. "As an EIS officer, I worked to protect our country from cholera that was spreading around the globe. I investigated an outbreak of E. coli that had hospitalized children in Massachusetts and identified contaminated apple cider as the culprit; that investigation halted the outbreak and probably saved lives," said Besser, who is now president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Slashing this program means that we don't believe in public health and how it can improve the lives of people here and around the world. That is frightening." Some of the EIS alumni are from other countries; the training helps health ministries abroad develop the skills of their workers. Former CDC director Bill Foege noted that during the catastrophic West African Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016, spread to Nigeria -- Africa's most populous country -- was contained with the help of people who had trained in the EIS. "It's almost beyond belief," Foege said of the news when approached by STAT. "When I hear about us leaving [the World Health Organization] or leaving the Paris [Climate] Agreement, we're cutting out the EIS -- a chill goes up my spine. Because I realize that we're dealing with people who are in a different reality. They don't understand public health. They don't understand what it was like to encounter the dangers of the past." advertisement EIS officers are hired under Title 42, a mechanism that allows the federal government to bring in the best and the brightest, in some cases paying them at rates higher than the typical public sector wages. It offers workers fewer job protections, however, making Title 42 workers easier to fire. One of the program's many alums, who is still at the CDC and asked not to be named, said the health of Americans will be negatively affected by these cuts. "The actions taken against the federal workforce thus far by the administration have already dramatically diminished the capacity of CDC to respond adequately, in the way that Americans deserve, to emerging public health threats," the person said. "And cutting EIS will make Americans and global populations less safe in years to come." Have you been affected by firings at federal health agencies? *Required Have you been affected by the Trump administration's firing of employees at federal health agencies, including the CDC and NIH? Please fill out the form below to share your experience with STAT's reporters. We will not share your name or story without your permission.* [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Email* [ ] Consent* [ ] I agree to allow STAT to use the contact details that I provide to verify my identity and answers to the questionnaire, as well as to contact me for further information on this story. Comments [ ] This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. [Submit]Privacy Policy [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] CDC, Donald Trump, global health, public health Submit a correction requestReprints 1. [helen-b-av] Helen Branswell 1. 2. Senior Writer, Infectious Diseases 1. 2. Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. [envelope-open] [Morning-Ro] Newsletter Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world every day [ ] Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Your data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. You may opt out of receiving STAT communications at any time. 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