The director of the Center for Disease Control is denying recent reports the agency has banned staff from using certain words related to their work.

"I want to assure you there are no banned words at CDC," Brenda Fitzgerald, the director, said Sunday on Twitter. "We will continue to talk about all our important public health programs."

I want to assure you there are no banned words at CDC. We will continue to talk about all our important public health programs. — Dr. Anne Schuchat (@CDCDirector) December 17, 2017



On Friday, a news report said the agency blacklisted seven words from use in official documents in preparation for the 2019 budget.

The words included “evidence-based," “science-based," “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” and “fetus."