Trump admin shelves Cyclospora research despite record-breaking outbreak
Summary
The Trump administration is ending most federal research on the Cyclospora parasite despite a large outbreak in the US. Scientists working on this research are leaving or moving to other projects as the USDA closes a research center near Washington, DC and moves work to Iowa.Key Facts
- The US has the largest recorded Cyclospora outbreak, with nearly 30,000 cases and over 900 hospitalizations this summer.
- Cyclospora is a foodborne parasite that causes diarrheal illness called cyclosporiasis.
- The USDA is shutting down the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center near Washington, DC, and relocating its work to Iowa.
- Two of the three USDA Cyclospora research programs have lost funding; the third is losing its scientists.
- Scientists are not moving to Iowa and are leaving or reassigned, causing a knowledge gap.
- Cyclospora is difficult to study because it only grows inside the human gut and has a large, complex genome.
- The outbreak was seen as a chance to learn more, but research has halted, and samples are only being preserved.
- Experts warn it takes decades to build expertise studying parasites like Cyclospora, making the disruption serious.
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