Infectious Diseases Doctors Warn: NIH Funding Cuts Threaten Every American’s Health

Massive cuts to funding for the National Institutes of Health will eliminate the promise of lifesaving medical treatments for millions of Americans of all ages, topple America’s longstanding role as a global leader in innovation, leave our nation less safe and more vulnerable to disease outbreaks and bioterror attacks, and will hurt our economy.

The funding slash strikes at the heart of biomedical research infrastructure, which will have ripple effects of halting critical studies, eliminating jobs, driving talent away from the field and hurting efforts to train the next generation of scientists. This will delay the development of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for:
•    Emerging threats like avian flu and other respiratory illnesses
•    Smallpox and other pathogens categorized as posing the greatest risk to national biosecurity
•    Mosquito- and tick-borne diseases, including dengue, Lyme disease, West Nile virus and others
•    Viruses most likely to cause future pandemics 
•    Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and fungi  
•    Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers
•    HIV
•    Sexually transmitted infections that are becoming more common and increasingly resistant to treatment

These cuts will have far-reaching consequences beyond health care. NIH research also supports thousands of jobs across the country, from doctors and scientists to lab technicians and manufacturers. Cutting funding means job losses and severe economic setbacks. 

The Infectious Diseases Society of America urges the Administration to reverse these cuts and calls on Congress to maintain essential NIH funding to protect public health around the world and national biosecurity.

--Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP – President, IDSA