Statement on Cuts to the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention

April 10, 2025

On April 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services eliminated two branches of CDC’s Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention (DSTDP): the STD Laboratory Reference and Research Branch and the Disease Intervention and Response Branch. These abrupt and unexplained cuts in the absence of a clear plan to address the resulting gaps will have significant negative consequences for the American people.

The STD laboratory conducted essential work including the development of novel STI diagnostic tools and provision of technical support for state and local public health laboratories. For nearly four decades, it was the cornerstone of national surveillance of antimicrobial resistance trends in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, carried out through a tiered network of 60 specimen-submitting public health labs and four regional labs that collectively performed susceptibility testing on 20,000 isolates per year. The laboratory’s repository of 50,000 N. gonorrhoeae isolates—meticulously built with taxpayer funds but now inaccessible due to the lab closure—is essential for developing diagnostic tools and new treatments for gonorrhea. The elimination of the laboratory is an enormous loss that will impact STI public health practice and research for years to come.

The Disease Intervention and Response Branch included more than 40 field assignees who strengthened the capacity of local and state health departments to conduct STI/HIV disease intervention services. This field staff in this branch played a vital public health role and were often the first federal staff on the ground in an outbreak response. The loss of capacity for disease intervention and response services comes at a particularly dangerous time for our field, as the congenital syphilis epidemic continues to grow.

The American STD Association (ASTDA) strongly recommends continued support for and investment in STI prevention and research. The essential services provided by the STI Laboratory Reference and Research Branch and the Disease Intervention and Response Branch at CDC should be bolstered, not eliminated. The loss of these groups will have lasting consequences for our communities and patients and the services that we can provide. Please join us and amplify our collective voice: share this information widely, contact your legislators, and advocate for the restoration of essential STI services at CDC and ongoing federal investment in STI research and public health practice.

Board of Directors,
American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association

Disclaimer: Government employees represented on the ASTDA Board are excluded from endorsing this statement.