Idle CDC Worries Experts As Flu Season Starts

Idle CDC Worries Experts As Flu Season Starts
A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, in Atlanta. The government shutdown has slowed or halted federal efforts to protect Americans' health and safety, from probes into the cause of transportation and workplace accidents to tracking the flu. The latest example: investigating an outbreak of salmonella in chicken that has sickened people in 18 states. The CDC has recalled some of its furloughed staff to deal with the salmonella outbreak, which has sickened more than 270 people and was announced by the Agriculture Department late Monday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, in Atlanta. The government shutdown has slowed or halted federal efforts to protect Americans' health and safety, from probes into the cause of transportation and workplace accidents to tracking the flu. The latest example: investigating an outbreak of salmonella in chicken that has sickened people in 18 states. The CDC has recalled some of its furloughed staff to deal with the salmonella outbreak, which has sickened more than 270 people and was announced by the Agriculture Department late Monday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The fall flu season in the U.S. is unfolding largely unobserved.

The CDC's labs and surveillance programs are idle, thanks to the government shutdown, and outside experts are worried that essential data is being lost.

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