Experts say layoffs, reduced disease surveillance and Medicaid cuts have made the foodborne parasite more difficult to track and contain

…cyclosporiasis can take weeks to appear, which means officials in Michigan can’t tell yet whether their warnings have helped.

And the outbreak is spiraling amid sharp funding cuts to state and local public health departments after decades of chronic underinvestment.

A microscope image shows a round pinkish-purple Cyclospora cayetanensis cell surrounded by blue-green cells

What is cyclosporiasis, the parasitic illness causing ‘explosive’ diarrhea?

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State and local health departments have suffered layoffs and hiring freezes amid funding delays, cuts and uncertainty, while federal agencies like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have hemorrhaged staff and expertise under the second Trump administration.

Millions of people have also lost their health insurance through Medicaidand Affordable Care Act coverage, making it more difficult to track the true prevalence and spread of the parasite. Cases in five states – Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia – have been linked by the CDC, but the parasite, which can cause weeks of explosive diarrhea and vomiting