There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans sick over the past few weeks with cyclosporiasis, an acute gastrointestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora. It’s all over the news and social media, and for good reason: cases are about as explosive as the diarrhea they’re causing (sorry for the visual!).
Michigan is a major hotspot, with 700+ cases as of Monday, July 6th. This isn’t normal - Michigan normally has about 50 cases in an entire year, and this represents something above 230% growth in just four days. Ohio is another one to watch, with nearly 300 cases since June 20th. New York, Illinois, and Texas are also seeing rising cases. Right now, the CDC has no evidence that this is one single outbreak across all 18 states. Instead, it might be two or three different food items causing these outbreaks, which typically peak in the summer.
Cyclospora is a parasite spread through food or water that is typically associated with severe diarrhea. It’s got a tricky incubation period - typically about a week, but can range from two days to two weeks, so it can be hard to pin down a specific food item that’s causing it. The most recent cyclospora outbreaks have been linked to bagged salad mixes, cilantro, basil, raspberries, snow peas, and green onions. So far this year, the CDC says it’s affecting more women (61%) than men, which may indicate that it’s associated with salads, fresh fruits or veggies.
So, what can foodservice operators do? The good news is that cyclosporiasis doesn’t typically spread from person to person, primarily through food or water. Educate your team on what’s going on and ask them to take extra care when washing and prepping fruits and veggies right now. Store prepped produce properly and make sure it’s refrigerated promptly. Remind them that handwashing will help them avoid getting sick, too.
Other than that, don’t panic if a local or state health department contacts you as they all look into which food items may be causing this. Give ZHH a call for support with your health departments, and know you’re certainly not alone as dozens of departments help investigate.
To protect yourself personally, we aren’t recommending that you avoid any travel right now (in part because this is so widespread already), but you might want to avoid bagged salads, and take extra care with washing herbs, leafy greens and berries before you eat them. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we find out more about the specific sources of the outbreak.
Sources: ABC, Georgetown HSOC, NY Times, CDC, MHHS, Columbus Dispatch
The Brown University Pandemic Center has been a key source of info for the ZHH team on infectious disease outbreaks near and far. They marked the halfway point of the year with this great timeline of the year so far. Avian flu, measles and New World screwworm are the biggest domestic outbreaks, while mpox, Lassa Fever, hantavirus, and Ebola are some of the key issues worldwide.
See the full midyear report from the Brown Pandemic Center here.