Trump administration axes key STI lab amid dramatic rise in US syphilis cases

Chaotic cuts to CDC hit expert leadership and programs that surveil, test and research sexually transmitted diseases

The Trump administration's cuts to a sexually transmitted infection lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) comes as some states, such as Wisconsin, announce enormous increases in syphilis.

Syphilis mitigation is just the latest example of work in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that will be affected by the lab's closure, as the Trump administration discards expert leadership and programs that surveil, test and research STIs amid chaotic government cuts.