Trump Administration Halts Cyclospora Research Amid Nationwide Outbreak

<p>The Trump administration is halting federal research on the foodborne parasite <em>Cyclospora</em>, despite a nationwide outbreak of the pathogen, according to a report from Politico.</p><p>Of the three research programs focused on <em>Cyclospora</em> at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), two have been defunded, and the third is expected to lose all its scientists. The USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center near Washington, DC, is being closed, and its work is being relocated to Iowa, which includes the remaining <em>Cyclospora</em> research.</p><p>While the research remains funded, sources indicated that none of the scientists involved in the project plan to move from Maryland to Iowa. Instead, they are either retiring, being reassigned to different projects, or leaving the USDA's research services altogether.</p>