Key facts
- The Trump administration is halting federal research on the foodborne parasite Cyclospora.
- Two of three USDA research programs on Cyclospora have been defunded.
- The remaining research is being moved to a facility in Iowa.
- Scientists involved in the research are not expected to relocate.
- The US is currently experiencing a record-breaking outbreak of Cyclospora, with nearly 30,000 cases reported.
The Trump administration is halting vital federal research on the foodborne parasite Cyclospora, despite a record-breaking nationwide outbreak of the pathogen, according to Politico. Two of the three research programs at the US Department of Agriculture dedicated to Cyclospora have been defunded, and the third is set to lose all its scientists. The administration is closing the USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center near Washington, D.C., and relocating its work to Iowa. However, insiders report that none of the current scientists plan to move, leading to concerns about a significant knowledge gap.
The United States is currently experiencing its largest recorded outbreak of Cyclospora, with the CDC tallying nearly 30,000 confirmed and probable cases this summer. At least 922 people have been hospitalized, and two have died. This surge is significantly higher than the typical annual range of 2,000 to 5,000 cases reported since 2018.
Cyclospora presents unique challenges for laboratory research, as it reproduces only in the human gut and is difficult to study genetically due to its large genome and sexual reproduction, which creates genetic diversity making lineage tracing more complex compared to asexually reproducing bacteria.