The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) admitted on Tuesday that it mistakenly fired several employees over the weekend who were actively engaged in responding to the ongoing H5N1 avian flu outbreak. The department is now working to correct the error and reinstate the affected workers as quickly as possible.
“Several job categories, including veterinarians, animal health technicians, and other emergency response personnel, have been exempted from the recent personnel actions to continue to support the HPAI response and other animal health priorities,” a USDA spokesperson told NBC News.
“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.”
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“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 fulfil our statutory mission,” the spokesperson added.
CDC reports 68 human cases of H5N1 virus in the US
The quick H5N1 outbreak caused severe damage to poultry populations throughout the nation and increased both the price of eggs and safety risks for human health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 68 human patients who contracted the virus across the United States.
{{/usCountry}}The quick H5N1 outbreak caused severe damage to poultry populations throughout the nation and increased both the price of eggs and safety risks for human health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 68 human patients who contracted the virus across the United States.
{{/usCountry}}Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has convened a panel to assess the situation and “reviewed options for a comprehensive strategy to combat it,” according to a USDA press release.
The Trump administration's mass layoffs continue, but USDA positions that received exceptions from administration-wide budget reductions continue to exist. The Agriculture Department affirmed that it “continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza.”
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The blunder continues as the administration attempted to reinstate nuclear safety employees who had been dismissed the previous week but encountered difficulties in locating them due to outdated contact information.
Multiple USDA agencies, including the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, are addressing the crisis now, per a Politico.