TECHNOLOGY · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Trump Administration Cuts Cyclospora Research Amid Nationwide Outbreak
WHY IT MATTERS
The loss of Cyclospora expertise threatens to delay the development of diagnostics and treatments needed to control the current outbreak and protect public health.
What happened
The Trump administration has halted most federal work on the foodborne parasite Cyclospora, even as the United States faces a record‑breaking outbreak. Three USDA research programs—representing nearly all national Cyclospora studies—have been defunded, and the remaining program is losing every scientist assigned to it.
The USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland is being shut down and its Cyclospora work moved to Iowa.
Although funding remains, insiders say none of the Maryland scientists will relocate; instead, they are retiring, reassigned, or leaving USDA research services, leaving the Iowa site with no experienced staff.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Trump admin shelves Cyclospora research despite record-breaking outbreak
Ars Technica · Beth Mole · Discovery only; Condé Nast copyright terms apply