The White House said Thursday it was 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."
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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.