Claim: There Are Cyclospora Outbreaks Every Summer

Verdict: True, but highly misleading

“First of all, there are Cyclospora outbreaks every summer. [...] Now that we know the probable culprit, I think it’s going to be much easier for people to make healthy choices.”

RFK Jr., July 17th, 2026 (Relevant question at 7:57)

As the outbreak of cyclosporiasis cases continues across multiple states in the US, RFK Jr. took to the Ryan Gorman Show to promote his push for healthier hospital food. At the end of the interview, in response to a question about the Cyclospora outbreak, he downplayed it, noting that there are outbreaks every summer.

But is this true?

There Are Cyclospora Outbreaks Every Summer...

The core of RFK Jr.’s claim is correct: there are Cyclospora outbreaks in the US every year.

Data from CDC Wonder confirms this simple fact. For instance, in 2022, there were 3,091 cases, largely as a result of contaminated leafy greens. Likewise, the database shows outbreaks of thousands of cases in all recent years.

 ...But This One is Much Bigger

Despite being technically true, RFK’s comment drastically underplays the current outbreak by creating a sense of equivalence with previous outbreaks. This is highly misleading.

The CDC reports that as of July 14th, there are 1,645 lab-confirmed domestic cases, and notes that there are 5,100 further cases that need to be tested for domestic origin. Note that the lab-confirmed domestic cases so far are already over half of the total for the entire year of 2022. The CDC also notes that by this time in 2025 there were only 249 reported cases – less than one-sixth of the current number.

Data going back to 1990 shows how the situation has developed over time. Most years, there were fewer than 100 cases. Notable exceptions include 1996 (1,646 cases), 1997 (1,594 total cases), 2005 (692 total cases) and 2015 (546 cases).

The outbreaks do appear to be getting bigger, generally speaking. Data from CDC Wonder for 2017 to 2023 [2] show between 1,000 and 4,700 cases per year, peaking at 4,703 in 2019, declining in 2020 and 2021, before climbing to 4,463 in 2023.

However, even data for Michigan alone show 5,002 cases so far in 2026.

In summary, it is highly misleading to equate the current outbreak with those experienced previously. The current outbreak is bigger than any in the past 36 years.