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U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is demanding answers from the Department of Health and Human Services over the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened people in more than 30 states, including Georgia.
Ossoff sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking him to explain why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s program that tracked the parasite responsible for cyclosporiasis was shut down.
He is also asking whether the program will be restored and requesting an update on efforts to determine the source and scope of the outbreak.
“The CDC had a long standing program called Food Net to track cyclospora and last year Robert F. Kennedy shut that down as he has undertaken this attempt to demolish the CDC,” Ossoff said.
Ossoff said the decision has left officials with limited information about the outbreak.
“Now we have cyclospora at large across the country and very little insight to the origins of the outbreak,” Ossoff said.
He also said families across the country, including in Georgia, should be concerned.
“This is really worrying for families across the country, and he needs to explain, Kennedy needs to explain why he shut down the CDC program that tracks this bug,” Ossoff said.
WSB Radio reached out to Secretary Kennedy’s office for a response but has not yet received one.
WSB Radio’s Cheryl Castro contributed to this story.
