The recent government shutdown is impacting all sectors of society. One especially important area is clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through which hundreds of children gain admittance every week, according to CNN News.
As reported to ABC News, NIH has had to reduce 75 percent of its staff (14,700 employees) in the wake of government strike.
"Unfortunately, almost everybody is gone," John Burkow, spokesman for the NIH, said to ABC News.
The NIH warns patients and applicants on the front banner of its website this morning: "Due to the lapse in government funding... transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted."
Those already enrolled in trials will continue their treatment. Most affected are those patients who've applied and await confirmation. ABC News projects that for every week of government shutdown, 10 cancer patients will be denied access to trials. No new trials will run until the country resumes as normal.
"There are four new protocols [clinical trials] ready to start next week, and they won't be starting during the shutdown if we're still shut down," Burkow told ABC News.
The NIH is not the only health agency forced to shut down this week. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has also dramatically increased its staff by 9,000, compromising its ability to mediate "multi-state outbreaks", ABC News reports. The center is presently tracking two such diseases manifested from the brain sucking amoeba Naegleria fowleri (killing one toddler in Louisiana last month) and the stomach bug cyclospora (infecting over 600 people across the country).
"The vast majority of the CDC is actively in the process of shutting down," CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds told reporters. "We've gotten really good at trying to find outbreaks, but our strong network is getting weaker. ... This is spotty."
