Federal budget could cut local CDC funding

A Northern Colorado facility that combats many major health threats is itself threatened by a massive cut in the federal budget that could eliminate its funding.

The proposed fiscal year 2011 federal budget, now in the hands of Congressional committees, would cut $26.7 million from the Centers for Disease Control’s vector-borne diseases division based in Fort Collins.

“That would completely eliminate the funding for vector-born diseases,´ said Assistant Surgeon General Ali Khan, M.D., acting deputy director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, a new center being created from two existing centers within the CDC.

Nestled into the westernmost reaches of Colorado State University’s Foothills Campus, the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases is responsible for researching, tracking and treating infectious diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease, yellow fever, plague and dengue hemorrhagic fever. It is part of the Rocky Mountain Regional Center for Excellence for biodefense and emerging infectious disease research, a consortium that includes 11 universities and laboratories. The center employs about 250 researchers, technicians and other staff.

The total budget for DVBD in 2009 was $39 million, which also included funds from programs outside the federal budget. About half of the CDC’s vector-borne disease budget is distributed to states to maintain data systems for tracking disease outbreaks, according to Khan.

The division has been located on the Foothills Campus since 1967 but got a major boost in 2007 with a new $80 million, 160,378-square-foot facility that took three years to build. The facility includes Biosafety Level 2 and 3 laboratories, an animal facility, an insectary and office space. Shell space on the fourth floor was slated for laboratory finishing to house about 50 scientists.

According to a CDC budget request report, the project was fully funded in 2007 and was to be completed in the first quarter of this year. A CDC spokeswoman was not able to confirm the status of the project in time for publication of this story.

Critical programs in jeopardy

Despite its state-of-the-art digs, ongoing operations at the site could be in serious jeopardy with federal budget cuts looming.

Khan noted that the budget is far from final and there are some potential bright spots. One line item could increase the overall budget for infectious disease by $19 million to $20 million, backfilling some of the cut.

However, he points out that other programs facing budget cuts will be vying for the same funds. If the budget proceeds as is, the CDC will have to work in conjunction with the states to prioritize what will be funded, Khan added.

“Without a doubt, Vector-Borne Diseases is important to us and to U.S. health and safety,” he said. “It’s so important, we will prioritize some money to support these programs.”

Khan listed many accomplishments and critical programs under the vector-borne disease program. The national arbovirus surveillance system, known as ArboNet, integrates human, equine, avian and insect monitoring reports from state health departments. The West Nile Virus program has seen marked success, including the development of the world’s first licensed DNA vaccine to protect horses from WNV.

Unfortunately, if the proposed cuts are approved not everything could be covered by the potential funding increases. Khan worries that the dengue fever program’s satellite center in Puerto Rico could become a casualty, and the animal facility in Fort Collins could close, if the appropriate level of staffing cannot be maintained.

“It’s just a ‘wait-and-see’ situation now to see what Congress decides,” Khan said.

Holding pattern

Many others in the community with an interest in the fate of the DVBD center are in the same holding pattern, in particular CSU.

“This is a very longstanding, collaborative effort we’ve had with them,´ said Bill Farland, vice president for research. “We value the opportunity to interact with the lab.”

The DVBD touches on the core areas of the university’s focus, both research and education. Many staffers at DVBD serve as adjunct and affiliate faculty of CSU.

“The division also provides work experience for our students,” Farland said, adding that last year more than 30 students worked at the facility.

For the broader community, research from DVBD is progressing to the point that spin-off companies are a possibility. Fort Collins-based Inviragen, which recently landed $15 million in venture capital to move its dengue fever vaccine into human clinical trials, licensed its technology from the DVBD.

“We are very concerned with any cuts to the division of vector-borne diseases,´ said Inviragen CEO Dan Stinchcomb, adding that the work done there is essential to Inviragen as well as public health. “The collaboration with DVBD has been very productive and very essential to moving the dengue vaccine from the lab to clinical trials.”

Khan pointed out that while dengue has traditionally plagued developing tropical locales, a May outbreak in Florida could indicate its reach is spreading. Stinchcomb explained that there is concern that a number of vector-borne diseases are seeing expanded ranges as disease transmitting mosquitoes adapt to new climates.

In addition to its work with the DVBD on dengue, Inviragen also licensed technology for a West Nile vaccine and is collaborating on research on chikungunya virus, a disease similar to dengue. Overall, Stinchcomb feels that with the trend of threats from vector-borne diseases on the rise, any cut to the DVBD program is shortsighted in terms of U.S. and global health.

Support for funding

With all of the connections to the Northern Colorado community, legislators have been vocal about maintaining DVBD funding. U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall co-signed a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.

“We are concerned that the $26.7 million budget cut proposed in the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget request would severely compromise the CDC’s mission for the division, including its ability to protect public health against some of the world’s most destructive diseases,” the letter stated.

Fourth District Rep. Betsy Markey fired off a similar letter to the House subcommittee. She pointed out that the loss of a dedicated budget will result in the loss of programs such as West Nile surveillance and dengue research.

The local impact is obviously of concern, but the public health risk has an even broader group concerned. The American Society for Microbiology submitted testimony on the 2011 budget for the CDC, in general, focused largely on what the cuts to the vector-borne diseases program could mean for the overall health of the country:

“This funding reduction will essentially destroy the infrastructure developed in the past decade in response to the importation of West Nile virus in 1999 and its subsequent spread across the United States, and will leave the country vulnerable to similar importation of other vector-borne diseases.”

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