As a virologist, I spend my days thinking about how to detect outbreaks of coronaviruses, mpox, West Nile and other pathogens early enough to stop them. Right now, I\u2019m concerned about Canada\u2019s awful flu season and the fact that we recently lost our measles-elimination status. But mostly, I\u2019m terrified of what\u2019s unfolding south of the border.<\/p>\n
The consequences of the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the CDC and NIH will extend far beyond America. Those agencies form the backbone of North America\u2019s infectious-disease surveillance. They track variants, monitor cross-border spread and feed data into global systems coordinated by the World Health Organization, helping everyone on Earth prepare. When those programs are dismantled, Canada loses key warning signs of influenza, RSV, measles and whatever diseases are coming next.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a grim picture: we\u2019ll detect and respond to devastating outbreaks slower than we should. Canada\u2019s intensely overcrowded ERs<\/a> will bear the brunt of this delay, making wait times even longer<\/a>. (As of last summer, the shortest were in Newfoundland and Labrador, at roughly three hours.) The country\u2019s research capacity will erode, because surveillance data is what we use to spot new, unknown viruses and build out public-health policy. As the U.S. becomes a less reliable teammate in data-gathering, we should strengthen our own independent methods. The fastest, cheapest and most effective way to do that is through wastewater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a virologist, I spend my days thinking about how to detect outbreaks of coronaviruses, mpox, West Nile and other pathogens early enough to stop them. Right now, I\u2019m concerned about Canada\u2019s awful flu season and the fact that we recently lost our measles-elimination status. But mostly, I\u2019m terrified of what\u2019s unfolding south of the border.<\/p>\n The consequences of the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the CDC and NIH will extend far beyond America. Those agencies form the backbone of North America\u2019s infectious-disease surveillance. They track variants, monitor cross-border spread and feed data into global systems coordinated by the World Health Organization, helping everyone on Earth prepare. When those programs are dismantled, Canada loses key warning signs of influenza, RSV, measles and whatever diseases are coming next.<\/p>\n