Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has vowed to hold Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accountable over the summer’s record cyclospora outbreak, which was linked to contaminated lettuce and caused severe diarrhea.
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, El-Sayed said he would seek answers over the outbreak that struck Michigan particularly hard. Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause prolonged, explosive diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
He said: “This is not about retribution for something past. This is about understanding what happened, holding people accountable for what they did and then solving the problem moving forward.”
“When you nominate someone like RFK Jr. who is anti-science to run HHS, what you get is a bunch of nasty crap lettuce in the state of Michigan,” he added.
“So my position is I’m gonna assume I’m not going to support you until proven otherwise. So the bar is going to be extremely high.”
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that more than 12,000 people in 21 states became ill with cyclospora, making it the largest outbreak involving the parasite ever recorded in the United States.
Investigators traced the outbreak to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell and other restaurants. The lettuce had been imported from Mexico through a Taylor Farms facility.
The CDC recorded roughly 6,000 cases in Michigan, identified as the outbreak’s epicenter. However, figures from state health authorities indicate that the total may have been substantially higher, with more than 15,000 cases counted during the outbreak, which was declared over in September.
Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed says he intends to hold Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accountable
Michigan reported two deaths, the only fatalities associated with the outbreak. Both victims had underlying health conditions.
El-Sayed attributed the agencies’ response difficulties to cuts at the Food and Drug Administration and CDC, arguing that the reductions left officials scrambling as the parasite spread across the country.
Before the midterm elections, El-Sayed also discussed the outbreak and said that, if elected, he would make legislation addressing its causes one of his priorities.
“For a long time here in Michigan, right, over the summer, there were a lot of people who ate lettuce and then had, you know, they ate the s*** lettuce. And we shouldn’t have s*** lettuce in the United States of America,” he said.
“We have to rebuild the part of the FDA that makes sure that people are eating lettuce where other people have not s***.”
He added: “And we need to make sure that the CDC can count the number of cases of s*** lettuce. It’s a clean bill.”
The first cases were identified in June. By July, Kennedy said the outbreak was “under control” and rejected claims that staffing cuts had weakened the response, describing them as “invalid.”
“We had no cuts in the surveillance program,” he said at the time. “We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were redundant surveillance.”
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The CDC officially declared the outbreak over on September 11.
Although more than 12,000 cases were documented, the agency said the actual number was probably considerably higher because many people likely recovered at home without seeking medical treatment.
CDC data indicates that patients were approximately 47 years old on average, while women accounted for 56 percent of those sickened.
Cyclospora infections are usually reported only in small numbers nationwide. Michigan typically records about 50 cases each year.
Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has pledged to seek accountability from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the lettuce-linked cyclospora outbreak
El-Sayed is pictured at a midterm election night watch party in Detroit, Michigan
Cyclospora, the parasite responsible for cyclosporiasis, is generally spread through food or water contaminated with human feces. Infection can cause explosive diarrhea, abdominal cramps and vomiting.
Severe cases can lead to serious dehydration, which may be fatal.
In the United States, infections are most often associated with international travel or imported produce from areas where cyclospora is more prevalent, including Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated when they are washed or irrigated with water tainted by human sewage.
Earlier outbreaks have been connected to packaged salad kits, cilantro, basil and other leafy greens.
Cyclosporiasis commonly causes explosive diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
Unlike norovirus and many forms of routine food poisoning, its symptoms may come and go instead of clearing within a few days.
Without treatment, the infection can continue for weeks or repeatedly return, experts say.
Anyone experiencing diarrhea for more than several days should seek medical attention and ask specifically about a cyclospora test, since the test is not routinely ordered, Dr. Swapnil Patel, vice chair of medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, previously told Our News Outlet.
The test looks for cyclospora DNA in stool and generally requires between one and three samples.
The infection is treated with the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, which is sold under the brand names Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim.
