KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Federal shutdown pauses CDC disease dashboards and analysis
States must rely on their own data to spot outbreaks
Experts warn gaps could delay response to COVID-19, flu, and RSV
Wastewater surveillance key to early detection now limited without CDC support
As the federal shutdown continues, states have been forced to fall back on their own resources to spot disease outbreaks — just as respiratory illness season begins.
The shutdown has halted dashboards and expert analysis from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors indicators such as wastewater to provide early warnings of the spread of COVID-19, influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and other infectious diseases.
The pause leaves states with less early warning on disease outbre