A record outbreak of cyclosporiasis is spreading across the United States this summer, and public health experts say deep funding cuts pushed through by the Trump administration have left state and local agencies too depleted to trace the source or slow its advance.
Cases of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, have surged to roughly twenty times the yearly average, according to figures cited by researchers tracking the outbreak. Suspected and confirmed cyclosporiasis infections have climbed from around 1,000 to more than 7,000 in a single week, marking one of the worst outbreaks of the illness on record in the country.
The parasite causes prolonged watery diarrhea, severe stomach cramping, fatigue, low-grade fever and nausea that can last for weeks if untreated. Investigators believe contaminated produce is the likely source of the current cyclosporiasis wave, with officials in Michigan pointing to bagged salad kits and pre-packaged lettuce as possible culprits. Attention has also turned to Taylor Farms, a major lettuce supplier to fast-food chains including Taco Bell, though a review of the Food and Drug Administration’s public recall list has so far turned up no formal recall tied to the outbreak.
Public health researchers say the investigation into the cyclosporiasis outbreak has been hampered by staffing and funding reductions imposed since President Donald Trump returned to office. Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, said the funding cuts have clearly slowed the response. “Have the funding cuts to public health impacted the current activities related to the cyclospora outbreak? I think they have,” Kowalcyk said, adding that reduced staffing means investigators are sometimes reaching patients six to eight weeks after they fall ill, long after crucial details about what they ate have faded from memory.
The Trump administration cut $11.4 billion in grants to state and local health departments in March 2025. Those grants were originally earmarked for pandemic-related activities, but Kowalcyk noted they had also been used to build broader public health capacity, capacity now sorely missed as officials scramble to contain the cyclosporiasis outbreak. In Michigan alone, public health laboratories lost $5.5 million in funding, weakening the state’s ability to test samples and confirm cyclosporiasis cases quickly.
Craig Hedberg, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, said the lack of clear information about the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak has been especially frustrating for investigators trying to protect the public. He compared the work of tracing an outbreak to assembling a puzzle: when staffing is cut, pieces go missing, making it far harder to see the full picture of how the illness is spreading and where it started.
Changes to federal disease surveillance systems have compounded the problem, researchers say, making it more difficult for state health departments to share data and spot patterns across state lines. With cyclosporiasis cases continuing to climb, food safety advocates are warning that the current trajectory could produce the largest single-year cyclosporiasis outbreak the country has seen.
Health officials are urging consumers to thoroughly wash fresh produce and to seek medical attention if they experience prolonged diarrhea lasting more than a few days, particularly after eating salad greens or herbs. Testing for cyclosporiasis often requires a specific stool test, since the parasite is not detected by standard screening panels, another factor that experts say has allowed the outbreak to spread further before being identified.
As the investigation continues, lawmakers and public health advocates are calling for the restoration of funding to state and local health departments, arguing that without it, the country will remain vulnerable to slower, weaker responses the next time an outbreak like this one emerges.
