'Frustrating': CDC lays off all cruise ship inspectors as virus surges

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laid off all its cruise ship inspectors, which would severely damage efforts to prevent outbreaks on board.

A smaller group of 12 U.S. Public Health Service officers will remain on duty, but CDC officials say they're baffled by the cuts because the inspectors are funded through fees paid by cruise ship companies and not taxpayer dollars, reported CBS News.

"The cuts come as the U.S. has been battling a record surge of norovirus, largely driven by a new strain of the virus," the network reported. "Agency staff were in the middle of responding to two outbreaks when they were let go, an official said."

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At least a dozen outbreaks, mostly from norovirus, have been reported on cruise ships so far this year, but an official for the Department of Health and Human Services claimed the inspections, which are support to take place at least twice a year, will continue despite the layoffs, which are part of sweeping cuts ordered by secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"Critical programs in the CDC will continue under Secretary Kennedy's vision to streamline HHS to better serve Americans," the official said in a statement. "CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) continues to monitor and assist with gastrointestinal outbreaks and track and report these illnesses."

But multiple CDC officials said the program was already struggling with staff shortages to conduct nearly 200 inspections last year, with one calling the HHS statement "frustrating," and now only one epidemiologist remains on the team, and that individual is still in the early stages of their training.

"None of the civilian staff are there to support them, so I don't know how long they will be able to sustain their mission alone without any support," said Erik Svendsen, who was head of the CDC's Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice before it was eliminated.