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New outbreak, unknown source
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating a new Cyclospora outbreak with 72 people sickened, and the source has not yet been identified.
“The Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it’s investigating yet another outbreak of Cyclospora, the unicellular foodborne parasite behind a nationwide surge in explosive watery diarrhea illnesses”
WTXL ABC 27 said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting more than 11,000 cases across 41 states, while the FDA initiated a traceback effort to identify the source of a second wave.
CIDRAP reported that the FDA started a traceback investigation for the latest outbreak that has sickened 72 people, while the CDC noted 4,173 laboratory-confirmed, domestically acquired cases of cyclosporiasis in 41 states since May 1.
CIDRAP also said the CDC is awaiting confirmation of an additional 7,400 cases, and that no deaths have been reported for the confirmed infections.
In a separate development, the FDA’s acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas said, "I want to stress that our investigation continues, including into other potential sources and commodities for other clusters of illness," as the agency looks beyond the first linked food vehicle.
Conflicting counts and tracing
As the FDA investigates the new cluster, the CDC’s broader accounting shows both confirmed and unconfirmed illness counts across the same 41-state footprint.
CIDRAP said the CDC yesterday noted 4,173 laboratory-confirmed, domestically acquired cases of cyclosporiasis in 41 states since May 1 and is awaiting confirmation of an additional 7,400 cases.
The Hill reported that the FDA has six active cyclospora outbreak investigations, and that only the outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce has an identified source.
The Hill also quoted Gwen Biggerstaff, the deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, saying, "Investigations into cyclospora "take a significant amount of time,"" as investigators work without whole genome sequencing.
In the background of the new outbreak, the FDA and CDC have continued to focus on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, even as one test result was described as a false positive in the reporting.
Food system pressure and response
The FDA’s new investigation arrives as the U.S. response to cyclospora faces political and operational scrutiny, with the White House pushing back on questions about whether funding cuts slowed tracing.
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WTXL ABC 27 quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying, "We've talked to the CDC and FDA specifically about that, and not at all. They have the resources they need" for Americans to be protected.
CNBC framed the outbreak as a test for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., noting that he had promised to overhaul the U.S. food system and restore confidence in agencies that oversee it.
CNBC also quoted Craig Hedberg saying, "it is clear that the cuts to federal funding over the past year or so have reduced our capacity to respond to outbreaks like this," while the article described the FDA and CDC narrowing focus to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms.
Meanwhile, the CDC and FDA reported no deaths for the confirmed and travel-linked cases in the CIDRAP account, even as the agencies continued to investigate thousands of additional suspected infections.
