Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cyclosporiasis Cases Reach 11,000, But FDA Declares Food Supply Is Safe
The New York Times: As Cyclospora Cases Climb, FDA Official Says Food Supply Is Safe
Even as the number of cyclospora cases in the United States hit record levels, top health regulators insisted that consumers could still trust what they were eating. “The U.S. food supply is safe,” Donald Prater, the acting deputy commissioner for food at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told attendees Monday at the annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection. (Creswell, 7/28)
CIDRAP: A Difficult-To-Trace Parasite, Messaging Missteps Contribute To Summer Of Overwhelming Cyclospora Outbreaks
Ten days ago, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a sample of iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico tested positive for Cyclospora, the microscopic parasite responsible for a nine-state outbreak of foodborne illness. The next day, the agency noted it was a false-positive test result. (Holohan, 7/28)
NBC News: Michigan Cyclospora Outbreak Shows Signs Of Improvement As New Cases Slow
There are promising signs that illnesses linked to contaminated lettuce may be slowing in Michigan, the hot spot of the multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. That doesn’t mean all the affected produce is gone from stores or restaurants, or that more people aren’t still getting sick, experts say. (Alvino and Lovelace Jr., 7/29)
New Hampshire Public Radio: 33 Confirmed Cases Of Cyclosporiasis In NH, 2 Hospitalizations
There are now 33 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in New Hampshire, according to the latest data from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Seventeen of those cases are people who reported eating lettuce from locations that served recalled Taylor Farms products. All of those cases are linked to exposure to recalled lettuce at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, according to Jake Leon, spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services. (7/28)
Regarding RSV —
CIDRAP: Study Details Full Range Of What Respiratory Virus Infections Look Like In Young Kids
Infants are far more vulnerable than older children to severe illness from viruses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study yesterday in Pediatrics. The findings also highlight significant differences in how respiratory infections affect infants, ranging from asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections managed at home to severe illness requiring hospital or emergency department (ED) care. (Bergeson, 7/28)
CIDRAP: RSV Options: Most Pregnant Women, Parents Prefer The Maternal RSV Vaccine Over The Infant Antibody Shot
Pregnant women and parents of young kids said they’d prefer getting the maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination during pregnancy as the primary way to protect their child against the virus, according to the results of a national survey published late last week in JAMA Network Open. (Boden, 7/28)
In global health news —
AP: Ebola Cases In Congo Top 3,200, Nearing Record Of The Country's Worst Outbreak
Confirmed cases in Congo’s ongoing Ebola outbreak have reached 3,262, its Ministry of Health said in an overnight update, nearly the same as the 2018-2020 outbreak that is the largest ever recorded in the country. Data from the Congolese health ministry showed that 1,437 patients have died out of the 3,262 cases, in what officials have said is the fastest Ebola outbreak on record, concentrated in the eastern Ituri province. (Bagalwa and McMakin, 7/28)
CIDRAP: Public Health Alerts: Emergence Of Babesiosis In Nova Scotia, Canada
A Public Health Alerts report published today describes 11 cases of infection with Babesia, a genus of parasites transmitted by Ixodes ticks, in Nova Scotia since 2023, seven of which were confirmed last year. The paper also notes a potential detection—though not a confirmation—of Babesia among almost 11,000 blood samples from donors in the province. (Wappes, 7/28)
NPR: The 2026 International AIDS Conference Faces An Uncertain Future
"Rethink. Rebuild. Rise." That's the theme of this year's International AIDS conference, which began this week in Rio de Janeiro. "Rethink" is perhaps an understatement. This year, there are encouraging signs regarding the ongoing epidemic — even though 1.2 million people acquired the virus in 2025, the number of AIDS-related deaths was 547,000, the lowest number in 30 years. Yet the fate of the global campaign to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is now in doubt, as the Trump administration's aid cuts have taken a tremendous toll. (Bouscaren, 7/28)
Also —
Sentient: Roundup’s Surprising Connection To Industrial Meat
For years, Bayer and the biotech giant it purchased, Monsanto, have faced allegations that glyphosate, the active ingredient in its popular herbicide Roundup, causes cancer. The saga has resulted in over 100,000 lawsuits, billions of dollars in settlement funds, a Supreme Court case and several actions by the Trump administration. But amidst the flurry of legal activity, few have stopped to ask a fundamental question: Why are we spraying so much glyphosate in the first place? The answer, in many cases, is animal agriculture. (Millstein, 7/28)
