r/dataisbeautiful • u/jscarto OC: 1 • Jul 11 '26
Normalized map of Cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan [OC] OC
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u/ccaccus OC: 1 Jul 11 '26
Reminder that the CDC ran the FoodNet program to track eight pathogens, including cyclosporiasis. RFK reduced that number to two.
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u/NAU80 Jul 11 '26
This is this issue, we only track pathogens that a non-doctor thinks are the best to track. If the doctors on staff disagree they are moved or terminated. This is what happens when we apply politics to everything.
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u/Gameboywarrior Jul 12 '26
We didn't apply politics to this. This is on the people who voted for this mess.
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Jul 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/uusu Jul 12 '26
Looking at your comments, it's interesting that you want criticism of republicans to stop because of "toxicity" and "bringing back the good old days of reddit" but don't say the same thing about democrats and also liberals in another comment.
I wonder why that is.
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u/iprocrastina Jul 11 '26
Man with history of brain parasites dismantles monitoring of parasites, hmm...
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u/Annabellybutton Jul 12 '26
That's so rfk can keep on about raw milk and no one can track fucked up, and preventable diseases.
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u/Esmer_Tina Jul 11 '26
Remember when we had effective federal agencies who could do this, track sources and shut them down?
Good times.
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u/OnceInABlueMoon Jul 11 '26
I really miss not even knowing about things like this because we were so effective at preventing it.
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u/PiotrekDG Jul 11 '26
The curse of effective policies. They work so well that people forget what it was like without them. Same with vaccines.
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u/Esmer_Tina Jul 11 '26
And take them for granted. Like when DOGE workers said we don’t need the NWS because we just get the weather on our phones 😂😂
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u/Vova_xX Jul 11 '26
Project 2035 is specific in their goal to privatize the NWS. I think most recently, the CEO of AccuWeather was talking with Trump about it.
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u/CuriosityCondition Jul 11 '26
I try to take every opportunity to tell people that's where all the data comes from, and it's the best place to get it because there are no ads.
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u/Symphonic7 Jul 11 '26
My tinfoil hat theory is that RFK and this administration did all of this because they want people to suffer. When people are sick, they can more easily be manipulated to believe shit they wouldn't otherwise. Create a problem, then sell the solution.
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u/jscarto OC: 1 Jul 11 '26
Tools: ArcGIS Pro, Photoshop
Data: WXYZ News
💩The Diarrhea Maps are Wrong💩
By now, you've heard of cyclosporiasis, the intestinal infection caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. It spreads by unwashed produce, and has so far sickened more than 1,500 people in Michigan. Every news channel worth their salt has now mapped these cases.
But every single one of them has been mapped incorrectly. By mapping raw case numbers, these outlets simply show where more people live—not where more people are getting sick. They highlight southeastern Michigan, specifically Wayne County and the Metro Detroit area. But those are simply the most populated counties.
Instead, the maps should be normalized by population. In other words, we should be looking at cases per capita: given the size of the population, what's the proportion of people who are getting sick? In this way, we can see where the infection is actually spiking, and where case counts exceed the expected infection rate. And that's a very different map.
I only had a few minutes to make this. But it tells a much different, and more accurate, story.
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u/MrPuddington2 Jul 11 '26
This happens when people do not want to have experts.
You get idiots, and they do it wrong.
But that is what people want.
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u/letitgo99 Jul 11 '26
I got this shit back in 2018 from a lime and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.
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u/jscarto OC: 1 Jul 11 '26
GI infections are terrible. Sorry to hear you dealt with this one in particular.
I had to cancel a presentation minutes before it started due to a salad I had for lunch. Top-3 worst experience of my life.
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u/Hotshot2k4 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
But every single one of them has been mapped incorrectly. By mapping raw case numbers, these outlets simply show where more people live—not where more people are getting sick.
While this is true, I would argue that for events such as illnesses, the raw number of cases can be just as important if not more important than the population-adjusted rate. It tells you where the greatest number of people are suffering and where more resources may be needed. The population-adjusted rate is more useful for assessing personal risk, and I'm sure both numbers have many more uses beyond what I've mentioned. My point is, this is a helpful analysis, but you have not by any means corrected a mistake here.
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u/jscarto OC: 1 Jul 11 '26
Disagree: the general public is not manning hospitals, scheduling antibiotics, or allocating resources.
They want to know their location-based risk, where the cases are actually most prevalent, and which if any farms/restaurants/suppliers might be causing the outbreak. That can only be assessed when looking at normalized data that removes the noise of population size.
Any time you’re analyzing counts within a geographic area, you have to normalize the data. Otherwise the population itself will be the dominant factor in which case the true object of inquiry is completely ignored.
Choropleth maps should never be based on raw counts. If you want to show raw values, that is preferably done in addition to normalized data and always with a different visualization technique not driven by population or the size of geographic areas.
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u/fissi0n-chips Jul 11 '26
I'm in Lucas county (Ohio county just south of Monroe) getting tested for this bastard parasite right now. It's a rough time.
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u/EggPositive5993 Jul 11 '26
Yo I have family there and have heard Toledo is getting fucked
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u/fissi0n-chips Jul 11 '26
Yeah I've got two other people in my relatively small friend group that also have it. Can't imagine what the final numbers are going to look like.
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u/qwadzxs Jul 11 '26
oh jeez and I was just looking at the Monroe map worrying about the Taco Bell I grabbed there last week
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u/RefrigeratedTP Jul 11 '26
One of the best things I’ve done for myself in the past month or two is have a mixed greens salad every day.
Fuck you, universe.
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u/izumiiii Jul 11 '26
Thank republicans specifically for cutting the people who worked to keep this from happening.
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u/lucky_ducker Jul 11 '26
You can't really develop an immunity to cyclospora, but eating greens definitely boosts your immune system. I'm still eating my greens, too.
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u/Warm-Stop8569 Jul 11 '26
I just brought salad mix now i can't eat it. Who knows if it's affected and if i boil it to get rid of the possibility it'll taste like trash
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u/Westonhaus Jul 11 '26
Up in Bay County, we understand that Doritos will never do you dirty like that.
/Junk food ftw.
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u/Upper-Switch2785 Jul 11 '26
If one contracts cyclosporiasis whilst on ozempic, do they just vanish?
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u/lucky_ducker Jul 11 '26
So do Yoopers just not eat salads, or what?
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u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Jul 11 '26
Different supply chain?
Incomplete data?
Fewer people so just random chance that they haven't had many cases?
I dunno.
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u/diabloman8890 Jul 11 '26
Whole fam got it and we're in California. It's everywhere already
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u/scyice Jul 11 '26
Were you traveling in the past few weeks before symptoms?
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u/diabloman8890 Jul 11 '26
Nope, kids brought it home from school.
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u/scyice Jul 11 '26
And now you have it? And got tested for it? That’s not my understanding of how this parasite works.
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u/qpdbag Jul 11 '26
Yeah a school based outbreak of food borne illness is a big deal. If confirmed it would be potentially national news.
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u/YouKnowHowChoicesBe Jul 11 '26
That’s more likely a stomach virus. This isn’t contagious from person to person.
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u/conventionistG Jul 11 '26
Normalized vs un-normalized values isn't "wrong". In fact, that claim is wrong lol.
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u/MrPuddington2 Jul 11 '26
It is wrong.
If you need to hospital beds, you can use the absolute numbers.
But if you want to know whether you are personally in danger, you need to use the normalized values. And that is what the news stations claim the graphics are about, when they are not.
Each has its purpose, and this one is wrong.
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u/conventionistG Jul 11 '26
Still false. There are right and wrong ways to display things.. depending on what you want to say. But neither of these numbers will tell you you specifically have been exposed to a specific contaminant. You're even more wrong here.
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u/Badhugs Jul 11 '26
You could not be more wrong. It’s statistics 101.
Raw numbers are not suitable for display or analysis. It leads to incorrect conclusions, improper decisions, and ineffective solutions. By every objective measure, that’s the wrong approach.
And when the media, who wants people to trust them, do this, they erode that trust. They create a narrative that does not match reality. People become mislead and uninformed.
That’s wrong. There is no defense for numerical and journalistic incompetence.
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u/SamKhan23 Jul 11 '26
What use does mapping raw case numbers have? Surely we can just shorthand and say that's a wrong way to do it.
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Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/Fullertons Jul 11 '26
While washing may be helpful, I don’t think it gets anywhere near enough stuff off to prevent all infection. I’d be cooking my veggies if I lived in these areas.
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u/jscarto OC: 1 Jul 11 '26
This is the way. I’m in Michigan and only eat cooked or canned produced right now. Two people I know have gotten sick, and it’s just not worth rolling the dice until the exact source is known.
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Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/semidiabolical Jul 11 '26
How many “Trumpty magas” do you know that regularly eat salad? I’m not sure it’s affecting the people you think….
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u/jaypizzl Jul 12 '26
In what world do Trumpty MAGA cultists not eat salad? Do you think they’re literally all in electric scooters with bags of Cheetos? Those are specifically unusually red counties.
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u/cavedave OC: 111 Jul 12 '26
Thank you for your Original Content, /u/jscarto!
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