In late March 2026, the CDC quietly announced that it was pausing diagnostic testing for rabies, mpox, and more than two dozen other infectious diseases — a direct consequence of a 20 to 25 percent reduction in CDC staffing that resulted from Trump administration restructuring of federal health agencies. HHS described the pause as temporary and said tests would resume "in the coming weeks."
More than three months later, the full accounting of what has been restored, what remains reduced in capacity, and what has been permanently discontinued has not been clearly communicated to the public or to health care providers who rely on these services.
Why This Matters
Federal diagnostic laboratory testing is not a consumer-facing service that most Americans think about. But it underpins public health responses to uncommon but serious infections that state and local laboratories may not have the equipment, expertise, or caseload to handle independently.
Rabies is a specific example: once symptoms develop, rabies is almost universally fatal. The CDC's rabies laboratory has historically provided confirmatory testing for human and animal exposures in cases where state labs lacked rapid rabies diagnostic capacity, and has maintained specialized reagents and expertise for testing at the national reference level. Delays in rabies diagnostic confirmation can affect the decision-making process for whether post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is indicated — decisions that have significant cost and urgency attached.
Mpox diagnostic testing, meanwhile, remains relevant given ongoing low-level clade IIb circulation and the recent emergence of more virulent clade Ib strains in parts of Africa.
What We Know So Far
The New York Times was among the first to report on the CDC testing pause in late March 2026, noting that the rabies and poxvirus laboratories lost approximately half their staff as part of the broader CDC staffing reductions. The pause covered at least 26 diagnostic services, including testing for:
- Rabies virus
- Mpox (monkeypox) virus
- Measles immune response
- Leishmania species identification
- And multiple other uncommon infectious disease agents
HHS' initial response characterized the pause as temporary, with restoration expected "in the coming weeks." That timeline has now stretched past three months without a comprehensive public accounting.
What Has Been Reported as Restored or Modified
New York State and California have been reported as providing backup capacity for some diagnostic services that the CDC paused — a form of distributed redundancy that existed informally but that has not been formalized or systematically communicated to health care providers seeking testing guidance.
According to available reporting, some of the paused tests have reportedly resumed — but the scope of restoration is incomplete and has not been communicated comprehensively. At least two services have been reported as permanently discontinued rather than paused: measles immune response testing and leishmania species identification. Whether additional services were permanently eliminated rather than temporarily paused remains unclear as of July 1, 2026.
What Doctors and Experts Say
Infectious disease specialists and public health researchers have raised consistent concern about the absence of a clear public accounting from CDC and HHS about current diagnostic service availability. Health care providers who need to send a sample to CDC for testing — or who need to advise a patient or public health department on how to access testing for an uncommon infectious disease — currently have limited reliable information about whether each service has been restored to pre-cut capacity, partially restored, or eliminated.
The practical clinical implication is that providers should contact their state health department directly for current diagnostic routing guidance for any uncommon infection, rather than assuming CDC services are operating at pre-March 2026 levels.
What the Evidence Shows — and What It Does Not
The March 2026 testing pause is confirmed and documented. The extent of restoration as of July 1, 2026 is partially confirmed from media reporting, with some services reportedly resumed and some reportedly permanently discontinued — but the CDC has not issued a comprehensive public list of which diagnostic services are currently operating, at what capacity, and which have been permanently discontinued.
This is the core accountability gap the article addresses: the absence of transparent public communication from CDC and HHS about the current state of a federal resource that health care providers and state health departments rely on.
Who Is Most Affected?
- State health departments with limited capacity to perform definitive diagnostic testing for uncommon infectious diseases
- Clinicians treating patients with potential rabies exposure or mpox who need access to reference laboratory confirmation
- Patients with rare tropical infections imported from travel who may need definitive pathogen identification that state labs cannot provide
- Public health surveillance programs that depend on CDC diagnostic capacity to track and characterize emerging infectious disease events
What You Can Do Now
- Clinicians: Contact your state health department directly for current guidance on diagnostic test routing for any uncommon infectious disease, given uncertainty about CDC service restoration status.
- If you manage a potential human rabies exposure: the CDC rabies laboratory telephone consult line (404-639-1050) remains a resource — contact it first to confirm current diagnostic routing before sending samples.
- If you are a public health official: file formal information requests through your state's CDC liaison to get clarity on the specific diagnostic services affecting your jurisdiction's planning.
- For the public: if you or a family member has had a potential rabies exposure (bite or scratch from a potentially infected animal), contact your local health department or emergency room immediately — do not wait for laboratory confirmation before beginning post-exposure prophylaxis if clinically indicated.
What Happens Next
MedicalDaily is actively monitoring CDC communications for any comprehensive public accounting of diagnostic service restoration status. We will report on any formal CDC announcement, congressional inquiry response, or investigative reporting that provides a clearer picture of what has been restored versus permanently eliminated. If you are a health care provider who has encountered a diagnostic routing issue connected to CDC testing capacity, we encourage you to contact your state health department and request that the gap be formally documented.
The Bottom Line
The CDC paused diagnostic testing for rabies, mpox, and more than two dozen other infectious diseases in late March 2026 following significant staffing cuts. More than three months later, a comprehensive public accounting of what has been restored versus permanently discontinued has not been provided. Some services have reportedly resumed; at least two — measles immune response testing and leishmania species identification — have been reported as permanently discontinued. Health care providers should contact their state health department for current guidance rather than assuming pre-March CDC service levels.
