USDA reportedly shuts down cyclospora research projects amid funding cuts and relocation
The Trump administration is closing two of three USDA research projects on the cyclospora parasite just as the illness has sickened tens of thousands of Americans this summer, Politico reports.
According to a Politico report picked up by the Guardian on Sunday, the Trump administration is shuttering two of three US Department of Agriculture (USDA) research projects studying the foodborne parasite cyclospora. Both projects lost congressional funding earlier this year. The third project remains funded on paper but is due to be relocated from Maryland to Iowa in coming months as part of a broader USDA reorganization — and, according to the report, every scientist working on the parasite has declined to make the move.
Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report. A USDA spokesperson said research "has not been disrupted" and would continue without disruption, placing responsibility for the funding cuts on Congress. The spokesperson said Congress did not appropriate funding for the two projects, based at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center outside Washington DC, for fiscal year 2026 under the Agriculture Appropriations Act. The Agricultural Research Service is reportedly working with program leaders to ensure an orderly transition.
The report also said scientists studying foodborne parasites, including cyclospora, are choosing to retire or leave the USDA's Agricultural Research Service rather than relocate or move to other assignments.
A major outbreak
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded more than 17,000 confirmed cyclosporiasis cases across 48 states and Washington DC between 1 May and 24 August, making it one of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in recent US history. The CDC says at least 11,844 additional cases may be linked to the same outbreak and require further investigation.
