Part two of our cyclospora deep-dive brings in Dr. Alex Sundermann, DrPH, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, to get into the outbreak detection and surveillance side of things: why cyclospora is so much harder to catch than bacteria, the wild week the Taylor Farms lettuce sample flipped from positive to false positive to epidemiologically linked, and what's lost when institutional knowledge and federal tracking systems get gutted. Also...a rare bipartisan bright spot in the FDA's approval of Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50+, and a reminder that behind every outbreak number is a person. We're skipping pop culture and recalls this week, but you can still find those linked below.

Find Dr. Sundermann:
Instagram, TikTok & Facebook: @DrAlexSundermann
Bluesky & Threads: he's also on there, if you want to doomscroll together.

Recalls:
Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

Referenced Article (if you wanna be a nerd and read it):
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cyclospora/cidrap-op-ed-cyclospora-outbreak-was-and-still-communications-failure

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Want to support PHGC?

• Subscribe to our Patreon for monthly bonus episodes
• Donate as a supporter
• Snag some PHGC merch
• Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share this episode with a friend!

---

The views expressed on this episode are our own.

We are available by email at publichealthgroupchat@gmail.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @publichealthgroupchat.

Theme music generated in Soundful.