Epidemiologists interview everyone with a lab-confirmed case, often two to four weeks after infection, making it difficult for people to recall what they ate.
Despite these challenges, Michigan’s chief medical executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, told the Associated Press: “There is clearly a linked outbreak happening right now.”
Kowalcyk said typical delays have likely been exacerbated by funding cuts. “If you’re understaffed you might be interviewing [patients] after 6-8 weeks,” she said.
In March 2025, the Trump administration cut $11.4 billion in grants to state and local health departments.
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Although earmarked for pandemic activities, Kowalcyk said they also built local health department capacity. Michigan public health labs alone lost $5.5 million, according to Bridge Michigan.
“In state and local health departments, you might have people who are funded by three to four different funding sources,” Kowalcyk said.
“If you take one away, you have to have people go part-time or reduce your staff.
There’s not a lot of choice, which means your capacity to scale up during an outbreak is limited.”
In July 2025, the administration also reduced the scope of FoodNet, a program that actively monitored for foodborne outbreaks.
FoodNet’s remit was narrowed from eight pathogens, including cyclospora, to shiga toxin-producing E. coli and salmonella alone.
FoodNet helped coordinate information across states and developed the statistic that 48 million people in the US are sickened with foodborne illness every year, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.
