Salmonella and the Shutdown: How the Government Shutdown is Affecting Public Health

For my media exploration assignment I found an article relating to how the government shutdown has been affecting public health. Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times interview food expert Marion Nestle about the recent salmonella outbreak at Foster Farms. The Centers for Disease Control were slow to respond, and she questions if this is due to the amount of workers who have been temporarily laid off due to the government shutdown. The outbreak has affected 278 people, with 42% of the victims in hospital and the strain appears to be resistant to antibiotics. An investigation has traced the bacteria to three of Foster Farm’s poultry plants, and so far they are not issuing a recall. They claim to have received a clean bill of health from the USDA, but reports have shown that the USDA found their plants to be unsanitary and a large threat to the public health. The USDA was able to issue the first report but it is the job of the CDC to monitor food-borne illnesses. Since the outbreak the CDC has regained 30 of its employees, and guarantees that the shutdown is not affecting the investigation.

            If government funding is not back to full soon, the effects on public health will become even more apparent. I also read an article that WIC, Women Infants and Children, is dangerously underfunded. They are only weeks away from being forced to close clinics, which would leave a huge part of the population without assistance. If the CDC cannot respond to a salmonella outbreak in a timely manner, what will happen if a dangerous strain of the flu hits this winter?