US health websites, datasets taken down as agencies comply with Trump executive orders

(CNN) 鈥� Several US government health websites and resources have been taken down or modified as agencies comply with executive orders from President Donald Trump.

Several US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites and datasets related to HIV, LGBTQ people, youth health behaviors and more have been removed or replaced, as well as treatment guidelines for certain infections. Many pages include a note that say 鈥淐DC鈥檚 website is being modified to comply with President Trump鈥檚 Executive Orders.鈥�

Some sites from the US Department of Health and Human Services鈥� and have been removed or emptied.

Trump鈥檚 orders require elimination of and require the : male and female. Guidance issued in a from the US Office of Personnel Management directed agency heads to remove 鈥渁ll outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology鈥� by 5 p.m. Friday.

CNN has reached out to the White House about the memo.

A senior health official told CNN that staff were told that consequences for noncompliance could be severe. Removal of the language will take time, the official added, so the sites and information were taken down in order to comply.

鈥淚n the process, large swaths of data and science will be unavailable for an undetermined period,鈥� the senior health official said. 鈥淩egardless of your comfort with the idea of trans people, you should be terrified that the government is purging truth and science to fit an ideology, because what鈥檚 next?鈥�

As of Friday afternoon, several CDC pages related to , including the CDC鈥檚 HIV index page, testing page, datasets, national surveillance reports and causes pages. for sexually transmitted infections were also taken down.

Many of the CDC鈥檚 sites related to LGBTQ youth were also removed, including pages that mentioned risk of , those focused on creating for and focused on among LGBTQ youth.

The site for the 鈥� a long-running survey that tracks health behaviors among high school students in the United States 鈥� said 鈥淭he page you鈥檙e looking for was not found.鈥�

A page about food safety during pregnancy called 鈥溾€� was also removed.

Also down was , an interactive tool that lets users analyze CDC data on HIV, STDs, TB and viral hepatitis, and the CDC鈥檚 , data that helps researchers and public policy leaders identify communities that are vulnerable to the effects of disasters and public health emergencies.

Last week, the Trump administration directed federal health agencies, including the CDC, to pause external communications through February 1. Asked about the changes on Friday, a CDC spokesperson referred questions to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

鈥淎ll changes to the HHS website and HHS division websites are in accordance with President Trump鈥檚 January 20 Executive Orders, and . The Office of Personnel Management has provided initial guidance on both Executive Orders and HHS and divisions are acting accordingly to execute,鈥� an HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Health-care leaders raised alarm about the missing information, which they said is crucial to providers around the country.

David C. Harvey, executive director of National Coalition of STD Directors said in a statement that 鈥淒octors in every community in America rely on the STI treatment guidelines to know what tests to run, to know what antibiotic will work on which infection, and how to avoid worsening antibiotic resistance. These are the guidelines for treating congenital syphilis, for preventing HIV from spreading, and for keeping regular people healthy every time they go to the doctor. People will get sick. And, especially in cases like congenital syphilis where you cannot lose a day to treat, babies will die.鈥�

Timely, accurate information is 鈥渆ssential for controlling infections and safeguarding health,鈥� leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association said in a statement on Friday.

鈥淭he removal of HIV- and LGBTQ-related resources from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies is deeply concerning and creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks,鈥� Dr. Tina Tan, president of the IDSA, and Dr. Colleen Kelley, chair of the HIVMA, said in a statement.

As pages started to come down, scholars and activists on social media have encouraged others to archive CDC data.

In a letter to Acting HHS Secretary Dr. Dorothy Fink and Acting CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, the Association of Health Care Journalists requested that the sites be restored immediately. The missing datasets are 鈥渃rucial鈥� for informing the public about issues such as 鈥渟moking, vaping, drinking, eating, exercise, and sexual behavior,鈥� the association鈥檚 leaders wrote in the letter.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN鈥檚 Sandee LaMotte contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire