Cyclosporiasis outbreak: Taylor Farms recall iceberg lettuce as diarrhoea-causing parasite spreads
More than 7000 cases are confirmed or under investigation but authorities expect the actual number of infections to be much higher.
After weeks of scrambling, investigators believe they may have identified the cause of the outbreak of a parasite which can cause “explosive” diarrhoea.
Since May 1, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US has recorded 1645 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis and a further 5100 are under investigation.
An additional 440 cases were contracted outside of the US.
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Now, a fresh produce company has pulled lettuce from suppliers in a move prompted by the Food and Drug Administration.
Taylor Fresh Foods said all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico would be removed from the US.
“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm, which represents less than 1% of the US’s iceberg lettuce supply, as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely,” the statement said, published by NBC News.
“No other Taylor Fresh Foods products across the country are impacted.”
On the same day, the FDA advised patrons of Taco Bell to avoid the lettuce.
“Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia,” it read.
Taco Bell issued a statement saying that impacted lettuce was removed voluntarily and it would be replaced with lettuce from an alternate supplier.
“Public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests,” the statement read.
“We encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and food-service operators to do the same.”
The state of Michigan has been the hardest hit by the outbreak, with hundreds of cases reported each day.
As of July 13, 141 people had been hospitalised with the parasite and cases had been reported across 34 states.
Investigators believe the actual number of cases could be much higher.
“We assume a 6-week reporting lag between illness onset and case reporting to CDC; therefore, we anticipate that case counts will continue to rise as data are received,” a spokesperson said on their website.
Usually, the parasite is contracted by consuming water or food contaminated by faeces.
The Cyclospora parasite is a “nationally notifiable disease” meaning all cases must be reported to the government by health officials.
Symptoms of the parasite usually start about a week after infection and the most common side-effect is “watery diarrhoea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements”, the CDC said.
Other symptoms can include nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, cramping, bloating, and increased gas.
Vomiting, body aches, head aches, fever, and flu-like symptoms have also been reported but are more rare.
Symptoms can last anywhere between a few days and more than a month.
Sick people range between two and 95 years old and 56 per cent of those infected as of July 13.
