CDC Cyclospora Lab Downsized From 11 to 3 Staff, Former Employee Says
6 reported2 unconfirmed
A former employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the agency’s response to a rising number of cyclospora cases is being hampered by personnel cuts. Joel Barratt, a molecular parasitologist and assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine who previously led the CDC’s cyclospora lab, told WIRED that the lab was downsized from 11 people to just three amid mass government layoffs last year implemented by President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency. Barratt said he left the CDC voluntarily in September after eight years because he felt he could no longer “do right by public health” under Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He described the environment as hostile and said he had to inform colleagues they could not be renewed due to hiring freezes. WIRED reported in October that the CDC reduced its total workforce by about 3,000 employees since January 2025, roughly a quarter of the agency, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883. Nearly 7,000 people across the country may have been sickened with cyclospora, with Michigan alone identifying more than 4,300 cases as of Thursday. The CDC is also responding to a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and several US outbreaks, including measles, E. Coli linked to frozen blueberries, infant botulism in powdered infant formula, and salmonella. Anonymous sources told The Washington Post that the CDC has identified lettuce from Taylor Farms as a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
What’s reported
The CDC lab that responds to cyclospora outbreaks was downsized from 11 people to three, according to former team leader Joel Barratt.
Barratt left the CDC voluntarily in September after eight years, citing an inability to “do right by public health” under HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The CDC reduced its total workforce by about 3,000 employees since January 2025, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883.
Nearly 7,000 people across the country may have been sickened with cyclospora; Michigan has identified more than 4,300 cases as of Thursday.
The CDC is also responding to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and US outbreaks of measles, E. Coli, infant botulism, and salmonella.
Anonymous sources told The Washington Post that lettuce from Taylor Farms is a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
Open questions
The exact number of cyclospora cases nationwide is not confirmed; experts say the reported number is almost certainly higher.
The source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak has not been definitively identified.
Key figures
Joel Barratt: molecular parasitologist, assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine, former CDC cyclospora lab leader
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Health and Human Services secretary
Amira Roess: professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University, former CDC epidemic intelligence service officer
Sources: Wired
