Abdul El-Sayed has warned Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he intends to hold the health secretary accountable for this summer’s record cyclospora outbreak, which was linked to contaminated lettuce.
The Michigan senator-elect told CNN on Thursday that he would demand answers over the outbreak of the diarrhea-causing parasite, which hit his state harder than any other.
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 going to assume I’m not going to support you until proven otherwise. The bar is going to be extremely high.”
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that more than 12,000 people across 21 states were sickened by 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 officially recorded about 6,000 cases in Michigan, the outbreak’s epicenter. State health figures, however, suggest the toll may have been considerably higher, with more than 15,000 cases counted during the outbreak, which was declared over in September.
Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed vows 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 blamed staffing cuts at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC, saying they left the agencies struggling to respond as the parasite spread across the country.
On the Sunday before the midterm elections, El-Sayed again addressed the cyclospora outbreak. He said that, if elected, one of his priorities would be legislation aimed at addressing the conditions that allowed it to happen.
“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 in the outbreak were reported in June. By July, RFK Jr. had said the situation was “under control,” rejecting claims that staffing cuts had weakened the response 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.”
The CDC declared the outbreak over on September 11.
More than 12,000 cases were included in the outbreak count, although the agency said the true number was probably much higher because many people may have recovered at home without seeking medical care.
CDC data indicates that people who became ill were 47 years old on average, while 56 percent were female.
Nationwide, only a small number of cyclospora cases are typically reported each year. Michigan usually records about 50 infections annually.
Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has vowed to hold Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accountable over the explosive-diarrhea parasite outbreak linked to lettuce
El-Sayed is pictured during a midterm election night watch party in Detroit, Michigan
Cyclospora, the parasite responsible for cyclosporiasis, is usually spread by food or water contaminated with human feces. Infection can cause “explosive” diarrhea, abdominal cramps and vomiting.
In severe cases, the illness can lead to dangerous dehydration, which may be fatal.
In the United States, most cyclospora infections are associated with international travel or imported produce from areas where the parasite is more common, including Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Fresh produce can become contaminated when it is washed or irrigated with water tainted by human sewage.
Earlier outbreaks have been connected to bagged salad kits, cilantro, basil and other leafy greens.
Cyclosporiasis commonly causes explosive diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
Unlike norovirus and many forms of routine food poisoning, however, the 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 whose diarrhea lasts more than several days should seek medical attention and ask specifically about cyclospora testing, 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.
