President Kennedy says cysticercosis is ‘under control’
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mentioned the cystosis outbreak during a press conference on health care fraud.
Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was referring to cyclosporosis, a stomach-wrenching parasitic infection that has sickened thousands of people across the country in widespread outbreaks.
At a July 21 press conference on health care fraud, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services said, “The spread of infection is firmly under control.”
Kennedy added: “We conducted extensive forensic and epidemiological investigations to determine the source of the infection. We and the companies involved have issued a recall.”
Taylor Farms has recalled some lettuce products after federal authorities linked it to a widespread outbreak, but the investigation into the exact cause of the parasitic disease is still ongoing.
Separately from its initial announcement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms had tested positive for Cyclospora, but later revealed that the result was a false positive.
According to the FDA, as of July 19, no samples tested positive for Cyclospora during this outbreak. The agency said it continues to work with Taylor Farms to investigate the source and test samples.
RFK Jr. says criticism of cross-polyiasis is “invalid”
President Kennedy also responded to a reporter’s question, calling criticism of the government’s response “invalid.”
“We’ve cut back on the Food Net program, but it’s because of redundant oversight, and every state will say we’re still doing forensics,” he said.
He added that they are still conducting surveillance “in every state.”
Last year, federal health officials scaled back the Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network, a program that had tracked foodborne illness infections in the United States for decades. Unlike other foodborne illnesses such as E. coli and salmonella, cyclosporiasis is a parasitic infection that can contaminate food and water.
The CDC said the program, known as FoodNet, will no longer need to monitor eight of the 10 pathogens it used to monitor, including Cyclospora.
Kalmia Kneel, a professor of microbial food safety at the University of Delaware, recently told USA TODAY that this loss of data could hinder health officials’ ability to track cases, identify the source of infection and stop further transmission.
Contributors: Melina Khan and Stephen J. Beard
