The White House said Thursday it is closely monitoring a growing multistate parasite outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people, as federal health officials race to identify the contaminated food behind the illnesses.Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to trace the outbreak to its source, insisting the agencies have the resources they need despite questions about recent staffing changes."We're committed to providing the CDC and the FDA with the resources that they need," Leavitt told reporters."Most importantly, [we're working to] trace the outbreak back to its original source, which we are currently in the process of doing."NYC HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN CENTRAL PARK VISITORS AFTER LEGIONNAIRES’ OUTBREAK GROWS ON UPPER EAST SIDEWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, in Washington, D.C.
(Mehmet Eser/Anadolu via Getty Images)The outbreak has heightened concern because investigators still have not identified the contaminated food, leaving consumers without a specific product to avoid as federal and state officials work to trace the illnesses through patient interviews and food supply records.The White House comments came a day after the CDC warned it is investigating large cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.The agency said the actual number of illnesses is likely much higher because many infected people never seek testing or medical care.The CDC said the outbreak appears to have accelerated since May, and is simultaneously investigating several additional clusters of cyclospora infections across the country.
Public health officials are interviewing patients about everything they ate in the two weeks before becoming sick as they work to pinpoint the ...