\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4416880_web1_c1ff181e1618444e9366a0340b650a0f-CPT638659151426158757.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
The Associated Press Files<\/p>\n
Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut U.S. public health resources.<\/p>\n
Reduction campaigns often begin by finding the most ludicrous example of government regulation in sight and characterizing it as typical of government rule-making. The fact that many government regulations keep us safe and healthy isn\u2019t usually part of the red-tape discussion.<\/p>\n
But, babies and bathwater.<\/p>\n
Right now, the United States is suffering through its worst outbreak ever of the foodborne infection known as cyclospora. It\u2019s a nasty little beastie that spreads through contact with human feces, and its symptoms, though not often fatal, can be long-lasting. Bloating, stomach cramps and yes, the aforementioned watery, explosive diarrhea, can last for weeks, and can even disappear and then return. The parasite is usually transmitted on fruits and vegetables eaten raw \u2014 raspberries, snow peas, lettuce, bagged-salad mixtures \u2014 and it often isn\u2019t removed by washing in fresh water.<\/p>\n
Across 41 U.S. states, more than 4,100 people are confirmed to have the infection. An additional 7,000 cases are being investigated \u2014 and state authorities, contacted by the New York Times, cited a total of more than 11,000 cases. (In an average year, slightly more than 2,000 cases occur in the U.S.)<\/p>\n
Tracking the source of the infection is already difficult for cyclospora, because it\u2019s a parasite that takes time \u2014 roughly a week after ingestion \u2014 before symptoms develop.<\/p>\n
Still, the sheer scale of the outbreak is unsettling.<\/p>\n
Another unsettling element is how quickly the huge outbreak has come on the heels of the gutting of public health resources by Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.<\/p>\n
DOGE and the Trump administration led major cuts to the agencies responsible for U.S. food safety, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control disease tracking system and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and FoodNet, an early warning system where testing for cyclospora became optional, instead of required, under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
FoodNet had required outbreak tracking for a variety of foodborne illnesses, including salmonella, a strain of E. coli, campylobacter, listeria, cyclospora, shigella, vibrio and yersinia.<\/p>\n
Now, only salmonella and the E. coli strain are tracked.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Wrap<\/p>\n
Weekday Evenings<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s must-read stories and a roundup of the day\u2019s headlines, delivered every evening.<\/p>\n