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U.S. outbreaks of a parasitic infection that causes explosive diarrhea are under control, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday, even as cases continue to rise.
"We do have the outbreak under control,” he told reporters at a press conference when asked about the spread of cyclosporiasis.
"We have done extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics and we have identified the source of the outbreak. We, and the companies that are involved, have implemented a recall," Kennedy said.
His remarks come just hours after Food and Drug Administration officials said a “false positive” result produced when testing Taylor Farms lettuce did not change data supporting an advisory that led to a voluntary recall of the California company’s iceberg lettuce.
“To clarify, this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms,” the agency wrote in a social media post.
Last Friday, the FDA identified Taylor Farms as the source of lettuce at certain locations of the fast-food chain Taco Bell where people ate before becoming sick.
That same day, Taylor Farms said it would voluntarily remove all iceberg lettuces from central Mexico from the U.S. market and initiate a recall.
Two days later, the FDA announced the false positive.
The investigation into the source of cases nationwide remains ongoing, the agency says.
There are now more than 10,000 cyclosporiasis cases reported across more than 40 states, according to The Independent’s latest analysis of state and federal data.
Michigan has seen the most, with 6,571 cases reported by the state’s health department.
Cyclosporiasis infections are caused by exposure to the cyclospora parasite. Infections are not typically life-threatening but can lead to some nasty symptoms that linger for weeks, such as vomiting, fever and diarrhea.
People may not know if they have been exposed until up to two weeks after eating or drinking contaminated food or water. And some people may not experience any symptoms at all.
The best way to reduce exposure to cyclospora is to avoid any potentially-contaminated sources, as well as to cook and thoroughly clean food. Heating food to 158 degrees Fahrenheit kills cyclospora.
Symptoms of infection typically appear a week after consuming the contaminated food or water but can take as little as two days or up to two weeks to appear, according to New York health officials.
Last year, federal health officials scaled back the FoodNet program, which has tracked food poisoning infections in the U.S. for decades.
Cyclospora was one of the pathogens the program would no longer be required to monitor.
Experts have said that move could hinder tracking efforts, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leaders have said that change had no impact on tracking cyclosporiasis this season.
“The data that we have for cyclosporiasis for this outbreak is the same as we’ve had for all of the other seasons,” Dr. Gwen Biggerstaff, Deputy Director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, said last week. “We use the same systems and the same processes. So that is unchanged.”
Kennedy said criticism related to the government’s response was “invalid.”
"We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance, and all the states will tell you that we're still doing forensics," he said.
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