August 9, 2026 / 1:01 PM EDT
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The following is the transcript of an interview with National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Aug. 9, 2026.MARGARET BRENNAN: We're joined now by the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. Good morning to you, doctor.NIH DIRECTOR DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA: Good morning.MARGARET BRENNAN: And we should mention you are also helping to run the CDC until the new director is sworn in as well.DR. BHATTACHARYA: Until next Wednesday, yes.MARGARET BRENNAN: Until next Wednesday. So let me ask you about a number of things that I think people at home are worried about, particularly around the food supply. The cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce from Mexico is now in 15 states. There were two deaths this week due to it. Yesterday, USDA issued an alert for a range of products that may have salmonella, including meat and poultry. 27 states are affected by salmonella, possibly linked to jalapeños, but cilantro, red onion, avocado, also listed in the CDC notice. Albertsons, a grocery store, just recalled some items. There's risk of salmonella in eggs in Texas, according to the CDC, and then you have the screwworm outbreak affecting beef. This is overwhelming for someone going into a grocery store right now. Why do they seem out of control?DR. BHATTACHARYA: Well, the- the cyclospora outbreak is larger than in normal years. I mean, in normal years there actually is a- cyclospora cases. The- the two deaths that you mentioned, they happened in late July- late- late June, early July, before we identified this source. And so, folks that are listening, can rest assured, the CDC and the FDA are working hard to trace back exactly where these outbreaks are occurring from, intervening with the- the sort of suppliers to make sure that they don't- and doing recalls to make sure that the disease doesn't- the, you know, condition doesn't spread. I mean, it's tough. You go to grocery store, you buy lettuce, and you say, "Okay, can I buy the lettuce?"
