Cyclospora parasite don cause serious diarrhoea for thousands of pipo across 31 states for United States. According to CDC, between May 1 and July 9, dem don confirm 843 cases, but state health departments say total cases don reach almost 3,000. Michigan na di worst hit, with over 1,500 cases as of July 12. New York get 394 cases, Ohio 306 cases, and Illinois 141 cases. No death don happen, but 86 pipo don enter hospital.
Cyclospora na microscopic parasite wey dey cause intestinal illness. Di main symptom na frequent, watery, and explosive diarrhoea. Pipo fit catch am by eating food or water wey contain di parasite. According to CDC, di illness no dey usually life-threatening, but if dem no treat am, e fit last from few days to over one month. Symptoms fit return after dem disappear. E dey take about one week after infection before person begin feel sick.
Di outbreak don hit Michigan hard. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for Michigan, call di rapid rise “highly unusual” because di state usually see only 40 to 50 cases per year. She say laboratories dey sequence di genome of di parasite to trace where e come from. Ohio Health Department report 177 cases as of July 2, but Toledo-Lucas Health Department don report 306 cases for just one week.
CDC say di number of cases fit increase as new data come in. Many pipo wey get di illness no go test because dem recover without medical care. Di public health agency say e dey anticipate case counts go continue rise. Di source of di outbreak still unknown, but past outbreaks don link to raw produce like bagged salad mixes, cilantro, basil, raspberries, snow peas, and green onions. Contamination usually happen for farm or irrigation level, wey make traceback investigations difficult, according to Dr. Caitlin Rivers of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
Michigan health department don recommend say restaurants and kitchens wey dey prepare raw produce reduce risk by thoroughly washing greens, cooking raspberries and leafy greens when possible, and removing outer layers of lettuce and green onions. Although FDA say rinsing produce no dey effective, CDC still recommend am. Pipo wey dey experience diarrhoea suppose contact health provider and ask about possible infection.
Dr. Dianna Blau, acting chief of CDC’s Parasitic Disease Branch, say e dey challenging to investigate di outbreaks because symptoms fit take one week or more to appear. She say for average year, only small proportion of cases get traced back to one particular food item. FDA say dem dey “actively engaged” with state partners, but no recall of products don happen yet.
Donald Schaffner, food microbiology professor for Rutgers University, say e dey unclear if cutbacks for CDC make e harder to track di outbreaks. He say “We need to be doing more to track these.” Janet Buffer, senior institute manager for Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, recommend against using dishwashing soap because e fit leave residue. Instead, she say “agitate the surface vigorously.”
Di illness no dey spread from person to person. Even when person shed di parasite through bowel movements, di parasite no mature enough to infect other pipo immediately. E take days or weeks for di parasite to grow for environment before e fit cause new infection. Cooking food na di only sure way to kill di parasite. Rinsing produce fit reduce risk but no eliminate am.
Michigan Health and Human Services Department suggest cooking raspberries when possible, like for pies and jams. Freezing fit kill di parasite but no guarantee. Other tips to reduce risk include thoroughly washing greens, removing outer layers of lettuce and green onions, and cooking leafy greens. Until source dey found, Schaffner caution against staying away from fresh fruits and vegetables. He say “We know that fresh produce is part of a healthy diet. We know that cyclospora cases peak between May and August, which is also prime fresh produce eating season. I can tell you that I’m not going to change my consumption habits.”
