Hot Topics in IPC: February 19, 2025, Policies Changes and Ebola

Contagions and a Side of Chaos

Things seem to be ever-changing right now in the US. Last week, it was reported that the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) was being disbanded, or at least the new class of Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers; however, that decision seems to have been walked back.

More recently, officials within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had to walk back a decision firing critical workers related to the H5N1 response, “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. "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."

Early this week, a decision and, shortly thereafter, a reversal regarding shutting down access to and destroying COVID-19 test stockpiles occurred. Over the weekend, though, layoffs occurred across several health agencies, with hundreds of probationary staff (in their first year of the role) let go across the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, CDC, the National Institutes of Health, etc.

An Ebola False Alarm and Outbreak Under Control

On Sunday, New York City had a false Ebola alarm as newspapers reported a potential Ebola patient was being evaluated for treatment. Two people who recently traveled to Uganda, where an ongoing outbreak is occurring, were transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue for testing and treatment of what is believed to be norovirus. Per NYC Health Department Acting Commissioner Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, "The 2 patients that sought services at CityMD on February 16 [2025] at 153 East 125th Street do not have Ebola. Neither patient had exposure to Ebola or other factors that would indicate risk. One patient is being taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue for routine testing and treatment. The NYC Health Department is in close communication with FDNY [Fire Department of Ney York], CityMD and NYC Health + Hospitals."

Limited information has come out regarding how this went from 0 to 60 so quickly, but one can assume the CityMD clinic had a travel screening question linked to recent outbreaks and related symptoms, which should have triggered additional questions and evaluation, rather than panic. Alas – this is a solid reminder of why investing in health care biopreparedness is so important. In that same vein, Uganda announced that all Ebola patients were discharged after recovery, while the 265 contacts remain under quarantine.

H5N1 Updates

Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, presents Hot Topics in Infection Prevention

The USDA has given conditional approval for a bird vaccination to be utilized in poultry. This is as APHIS announced a third spillover event identified in Arizona, noting, “The detection of this virus genotype in dairy cattle is not unexpected because genotype D1.1 represents the predominant genotype in the North American flyways this past fall and winter and has been identified in wild birds, mammals, and spillovers into domestic poultry. Whole genome sequencing indicates that this detection is a separate wild-bird introduction of HPAI to dairy cattle, now the third identified spillover event into dairy cattle. This finding may indicate an increased risk of HPAI introduction into dairies through wild bird exposure.” According to the CDC, there is a new hospitalization in Wyoming, and as of February 18, 2025, 972 dairy herds have been impacted across 16 states.