The most recent MAHA bullshit reminded me of the old adage:
“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
From my friends at CIRAP:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has scaled back a federal-state surveillance program for foodborne pathogens.
As of July 1, the CDC’s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), which works with the Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture, and 10 state health departments to track infections commonly transmitted through food, has reduced required surveillance to two pathogens: Salmonella and Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Reporting of illnesses caused by Campylobacter, Cyclospora, Listeria, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia is now optional, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The story was first reported by NBC News, which cited a set of CDC talking points that suggested reduced federal funding for FoodNet was the reason for the move.
The network includes Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, and select counties in California and New York. A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Health told CIDRAP News that all eight pathogens are covered by the state’s infectious disease reporting rule, which means that all providers in the state are still required to report cases to the department.
So, if we do not count illnesses perhaps MAHA can claim credit of the decrease in illnesses and deaths?