Irish Examiner view: White House threat to global health research beggars belief
US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. The attempt to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez — an infectious disease researcher — is thought to have come amid a clash with Kennedy. Picture: Mark Thiessen/AP
The Trump White House is a reliable source of chaos, and this week has been no different.
One of the biggest stories emerging from the US in recent days is the relationship between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US president, insofar as there is any relationship at all.
On Wednesday, the White House announced that CDC director Susan Monarez had been fired after just a month in office. Her lawyer said she was refusing to step down, and her legal status as director was still unclear at press time.
While this back-and-forth is par for the course in the Trump administration, there is an ominous backdrop to this particular controversy.
It is believed that Ms Monarez, an infectious disease researcher, had clashed with Mr Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, on vaccine policy.
For constitutional reasons, he was unable to dismiss Ms Monarez, but now the US president has done so. Four other senior CDC members have also quit, departures linked to Mr Kennedy’s well-aired scepticism about vaccines.
This is significant news in the US, where falling vaccination rates have been linked to incidents such as a large-scale outbreak of measles in Texas. Hundreds have been infected in the area, and at least two children have died as a result.
The CDC would normally intervene to support local health workers in such cases, but the organisation has had to contend with malign interventions from the Trump White House, such as the firing of hundreds of its workers.
There are also clear implications for the rest of the world in this assault on a global leader in health research and disease prevention.
Legitimising the anti-science opinions of a figure such as Mr Kennedy in situations such as this attack on the CDC has an effect everywhere, Ireland included. It supports and emboldens those peddling dangerous theories everywhere.
We should also remember that it is just five years since we endured the most significant global pandemic in over a century.
Crippling one of the most powerful institutions in the world — one with specific expertise in combating such outbreaks — beggars belief.
Last week, we learned that thousands of fish had died in North Cork as a result of a fish kill in the Munster Blackwater and several of its tributaries.
This week, we learned some of the gruesome specifics involved, such as the fact that many of those fish died in agony by having their flesh eaten away by severe necrosis.
This was discovered by scientist Sue Mitchell, an expert accredited by the European Council of Aquatic Animal Health, who compiled a report for local angling clubs on the incident.
Mitchell’s report has not been finalised — some of her results are still pending — but she has established that agricultural run-off (which would include pesticides, herbicides, and slurry) could be one cause.
Other possibilities include a spill of industrial effluent such as chemicals or heavy metals, or a spill involving fuel or solvents.
She has also established that there was no evidence of parasites, bacteria, or fungal infection being responsible for the fish kill, while she also found specific damage had been done to the eyes and gills of many of the dead fish.
The speed of Ms Mitchell’s reporting is significant because when news of the fish kill broke last week, the Marine Institute said it would take three weeks for test results to come through. Yet a report carried out for local angling clubs has already shared significant findings.
Those angling clubs have stated that there may be as many as 50,000 dead fish in the river, which would make this the biggest fish kill in the history of the State. It is expected to take years before the local environment recovers fully, with knock-on effects on tourism in the area.
There is also ongoing uncertainty and concern about the cause of the fish kill and the possible threat being posed to other rivers, as well as the danger for wild animals or birds which may feed upon these dead fish.
One would surely have expected more urgency from the Marine Institute in finding out the precise cause of this disaster, especially when local angling clubs have already been able to have tests carried out.
With summer ebbing away, people can be forgiven for hanging on to the last vestiges of the holidays — and nothing says the last vestiges of the holidays like Electric Picnic.
The weekend festival in Laois has now become such a fixture on the calendar that other organisations know better than to clash with: Wexford GAA recently cancelled matches for this weekend because so many players would be going to Stradbally as to make them unfeasible.
There will be the customary feverish checking of weather forecasts and the traditional run on camping gear and waterproof clothing before thousands decamp for the festival site.
Those attending should double-check their tickets after a recent controversy concerning people being scammed for non-existent tickets, while it is also worth noting that the HSE has also stated that “back-of-house testing and outreach will be provided” at this weekend’s music and arts festival.
Readers heading to Stradbally will have no shortage of entertainment anyway, from Hozier to Kneecap.
Enjoy the weekend.
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