The United States Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is scaling back operations in epidemic prevention work in 39 countries, leaving global health experts warning the world, "You should be freaking out."

The agency is expecting as much as 80-percent of its operating budget to disappear under the Republican congress and as the orange clown Donald Trump pulls the US back from its leadership position in the world.  Congress gave the CDC US$600 million for the initiative after the West African Ebola Epidemic exposed major weakness in the global capability to address outbreaks.  The agency only has about $150 million left for the initiative, and funds will run out in 2019.  After that, Trump and the republicans aren't expected to dedicate additional budgetary resources.

The problem is, epidemics don't respect borders.

The US works with 49 other countries around the world with financial assistance and technical expertise to tamp down outbreaks as they pop-up.  Cut that off, and laboratories won't detect outbreaks as fast and information won't be shared.  Disease outbreaks will have more time to turn into epidemics, and epidemics more time to turn into pandemics - just like Ebola did in West Africa.

It also means that without the frontline disease intelligence it built up over the years, dangerous infectious diseases will make it to the United States.  And because the US is the crossroads of the world, infections can spread from there.