Trump hasn't banned words 'foetus' and 'transgender': health department

The US health department has denied reports seven words have been banned from official documents being prepared for next year's budget.

The CDC has denied reports that seven words have been prohibited for use in budget documents. Source: AAP

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has denied reports the Trump administration has banned the use of seven words and phrases from next year's official budget documents.

Policy analysts at the country's top public health agency were reportedly told in a meeting with senior officials on Thursday that "foetus", "vulnerable", "entitlement", "diversity", "transgender", "evidence-based" and "science-based", were not to be used.

The Washington Post quotes an unnamed analyst at the meeting where staff were given alternative phrases, such as "science in consideration with community standards and wishes" instead of "science-based".

A HHS statement issued in response to the media reports said: "The assertion that HHS has 'banned words' is a complete mischaracterization of discussions regarding the budget formulation process."

The CDC, whose work is in areas such as in the prevention of infectious disease outbreak, food and water safety, and HIV/AIDS, has a budget of about $7 billion and has more than 12,000 employees.

The director of the CDC, Dr Brenda Fitzgerald, also denied the claims in a series of tweets.

"I want to assure you there are no banned words at CDC. We will continue to talk about all our important public health programs.

"(The) CDC remains committed to our public health mission as a science- and evidence-based institution.

"CDC has a long-standing history of making public health and budget decisions that are based on the best available science and data and for the benefit of all people - and we will continue to do so."

US health leaders have expressed their concern about the reports.

"Here's a word that's allowed: 'ridiculous," CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Rush Holt, said in a statement.

Since US President Donald Trump took office, a number of federal agencies have altered their references to particular topics including the environment and LGBT issues.

The New York Times reported in October that the Environmental Protection Agency had removed about 15 mentions of the words "climate change" from its main web page.

Details of Mr Trump's 2019 budget is expected to be revealed around February next year.

- With AAP