hello bossman

The country is in the midst of a nationwide outbreak of explosive diarrhea caused by a parasite the CDC stopped surveilling at the federal level in July 2025.

That's around the same time the Trump administration began haphazardly attacking and defunding federal health and science agencies under the guise of “government efficiency,” with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. separately also pushing out critical federal scientists and researchers.

Prior to that date, a collaborative CDC program called FoodNet helped federal and state regulators track eight foodborne pathogens.

Among them was cyclospora, a heat-loving spherical parasite that's sickened 1,000 people in an ongoing outbreak in Michigan (the state's worst), with similar illnesses cropping up in 28 other states.

In addition to cyclospora, surveillance of campylobacter, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia was cut. FoodNet now only regularly monitors two diseases: Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

A CDC spokesperson at the time downplayed the cuts to NBC and suggested state health departments could pick up the slack.

Colorado, one of the participating states, said that absent funding it would correspondingly cut back its surveillance. The state is now experiencing a cyclospora outbreak of its own.

“I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy,” Reba Pousma, a Denver resident who likely has cyclospora, told CBS. “I'm on day five now of going to the bathroom over 40 times a day, and nothing has been solid.”

Craig Hedberg, PhD, a professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the

University of Minnesota, disagreed with the CDC's claim that FoodNet was duplicative.

“The disturbing thing about cutting FoodNet funds is that it normalizes the idea that foodborne disease surveillance is expensive and unimportant,” Hedberg told the school's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “In fact, it is the foundation of our food safety system, and needs further investments, not restrictions.”

In addition to the ongoing cyclospora outbreak, Trump administration cutbacks made under the guise of “government efficiency” also brought back a flesh-eating parasite that favors cattle, accidentally fired scientists managing the bird flu outbreak, accidentally fired the FDA's medical device reviewers, and pulled research funding to protect pregnant women from domestic violence, among other things.

this is not life-threatening, but also who wants weeks of diarrhea and a fucking parasite in them lol. if you suspect you've already had this and it's passed, i would see a doctor. you might need an antiparasitic anyway. if you're actively sick, see a doctor and they might be able to prescribe medication to help you get over it faster.

try to avoid eating raw vegetables, scrub fruit with a produce brush and rinse thoroughly with water. again, don't bother with premade greens or bagged salads. if you buy lettuce, remove the outer 2-3 layers of leaves.

Only high temperatures will kill cyclospora. It resides in what is like a shell, which is highly resistant to water and most cleaning chemicals. The substance it uses to cling to food is so strong we don't even fully know what its limits are. It may be best to avoid fruits and veggies you can't cook. Scrubbing only works if done hard enough and on foods with no hiding places (Like cucumbers and grapes). Peeling the skin off is your best bet at avoiding it however, scrubbing is not guaranteed.

I’ve been peroxide dipping broccoli, green beans and some root vegetables I use for my birds; frozen veggies are usually less of a risk, because they’re usually washed very thoroughly before freezing, but for vegetables that are higher risk I’ve temporarily switched to fresh and clean them extra thoroughly; (since frozen thawed veggies are permeable and the peroxide can get into the food) peroxide won’t necessarily kill cyclospora at the concentrations you use for produce cleaning, but it does help dissolve the adhesive it uses and makes it easier to rinse it away.

BLEACH WILL NOT DO ANYTHING to cyclospora. It is like cryptosporidium that way. Its membrane and “glue” can’t be permeated by chlorine. You have to use hydrogen peroxide.

I use 3% peroxide at half strength,(1.5%) using distilled water. Keep the produce out of light and away from heat, preferably covered in the refrigerator for about an hour. Then rinse like hell with the hottest water you can stand. The temperature swing also helps loosen the polymer like glue, at least in theory. It makes me feel better regardless.

If you need to disinfect surfaces that may have come into contact with cyclospora, use 6% or stronger hydrogen peroxide on stain-able surfaces, or use iodine at full or half strength on non-staining surfaces. Quaternary ammonium products (like Lysol) do technically work, but they take longer and are less effective, which is why we are having problems, because QA is the industry standard for disinfecting surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms, because mostly it works on everything and evaporates….but not with tough, sticky bugs like cyclospora (or crypto.)

Beware that strong hydrogen peroxide can and will chemically burn the hell out of you, so wear appropriate PPE when handling. Iodine should also be treated with caution as the fumes can be very very irritating and even deadly to animals.

Otherwise use a high temperature steam cleaner, but be aware that the heat has to stay on that area for at least a minute to kill the parasite.

For most people I’d say avoid high risk produce for a while, but if you can’t, use peroxide. Vinegar won’t do crap.

DO NOT MIX CHEMICALS ESPECIALLY NOT HYDROGEN PEROXIDE WITH ANYTHING EVER AT ALL UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!!!!!!!

Hydrogen bomb VS Hydrogen bomb

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