Image via Shuttertstock.
An expert in infectious diseases this week tossed cold water on the hype and panic surrounding the recent parasitic outbreak, arguing that certain reports about Trump administration cuts have been a "red herring" masking the real issue and making things worse.
As of Tuesday, NBC News reported that around an estimated 7,000 cases of cyclosporiasis had spread across the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a little over 3,300 being from Michigan. A parasitic foodborne illness, cyclosporiasis can cause days or weeks of severe explosive diarrhea, and is most often spread by contaminated fresh produce, including leafy greens, berries and herbs.
Since the outbreak began to emerge, reports have indicated that the sweeping cuts to the national health and disease tracking apparatuses under President Donald Trump have made the situation worse, with many reports honing in on a change made to FoodNet last year. Introduced in 1995, FoodNet is a program run in collaboration between the CDC, the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and state health departments, which aims to track the spread of foodborne diseases. In 2025, under the Trump administration, the tracking of cyclosporiasis was made optional.
In a Wednesday appearance on CNN, Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told host Audie Cornish that the attention put on that FoodNet change was a "red herring," as far as this current outbreak was concerned. He also said that, by his estimation, the outbreak was most likely done, for the time being.
"There's a lot ofmisinformation going aroundabout this right now," Osterholm said. "Let metell you, I'm not afraid to becritical of the federalgovernment or even stategovernments with regard to response. But let's be reallyclear: the changes thatoccurred at CDC wereeliminating certain diseasesfrom what would be considered community laboratories, the FoodNet system. These are ten siteswhere they do much moreextensive study. The way casesget reported to local and statehealth departments, and the CDC, through the national notifiable disease system, that has not changed. So this idea that somehow what changes occurred at CDC basically caused this outbreak not to be well investigated, just simply [isn't] true."
He also noted: "I can say right now, Ithink the outbreak is over. Andwhat I mean by that is theperishable items that camethrough the food system 4 to 6weeks ago are gone. It's notthere anymore. People are stillsick. We're still going to hearabout new cases because they'rejust now getting diagnosed. Andas you heard on the lead-in onthe social media commentary, wejust heard, there are people who are still very sick. The goodnews is they can be treated. Thereally also good news is thatleafy greens generally are verysafe to eat."
While dismissive of the focus put on the FoodNet changes as a contributor to this outbreak, Osterholm was still critical of the CDC's response time, as well as
"I think this outbreak is one that really needs to be reexamined when it's all done, because I think, frankly, we should have had these answers weeks ago and didn't," Osterholm explained. "And I can't attribute that to any one thing other than a lack of overall leadership in responding to this. Yesterday, the CDC put out what was called a 'health alert network' alert, and at that point, that's something that should have been sent out four weeks ago, not at the end of this."
He added later: "Theproblem we have is that in thefirst instance, like politics,all of foodborne diseaseinvestigations start at thestate and local level. Andtoday, 94 percent of all the budgetsfor all 50 state healthdepartments depend on thisfederal support to achieve that level of protection. Andright now, we're havingchallenges at the state andlocal health department where,in fact, these investigationsbegin. So that is a problem. Butit's not what has been made.The problem with this FoodNetsystem, that's just a red herring."