A healthcare expert has outlined practical ways people can lower their risk during a growing Cyclospora outbreak that has left some patients dealing with severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including what has been described as ‘explosive diarrhea’.
According to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal outbreak investigators, nearly 7,000 people nationwide are either confirmed to have cyclosporiasis or are still being investigated as possible cases, with 1,645 confirmed infections and more than 5,100 additional reports under review. In the five-state outbreak linked to Taco Bell locations, the Food and Drug Administration says 1,644 people with exposure to the chain have been reported, including 94 hospitalizations and no deaths.
Investigators have now identified shredded iceberg lettuce as a likely source in the outbreak, and federal officials say Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia were among those affected. The FDA said Taco Bell has stopped using the lettuce from the supplier identified in the traceback investigation, while Taylor Farms de Mexico said it was voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market.
One Chicago resident, Alonso Zaragoza, said his symptoms became so intense that he ended up in hospital. He told NBC Chicago that he had barely slept for more than a week after becoming ill.
“I’m probably at like 80% that’s still better than a lot of people right now,” he told NBC Chicago. “It was just every hour and a half going to the washroom. I don’t think I slept more than an hour and a half continuously in the last week.”
Zaragoza said the illness worsened until he noticed blood in his stool. After going to the emergency room, he was reportedly informed that he was suffering from the parasite-related infection.
Nathan Payne, a nurse practitioner at Alpha Care Urgent Care in Ocean Springs, has shared advice with WXXV25 on how people can protect themselves.
“Cyclospora is a parasite. It is something typically related to contaminated ground water or contaminated produce. It’s fairly easily killed with cooking,” the health expert explained.
“When it gets into your body and populates it can cause infection, which causes sometimes 20-30 bouts of watery diarrhea a day. It can cause bloating, excess flatulence, some mild abdominal pain, and a low-grade fever sometimes accompanies it.”
Payne said pre-packaged chopped lettuce may be especially problematic because it can be difficult to clean thoroughly.
“It’s been linked to bagged lettuce, which are just chopped up pieces of lettuce, because they are hard to wash and decontaminate. So how do we avoid this? One way is if you’re gonna use lettuce, let’s buy the whole heads of lettuce, then lets strip off the outer layers of this and wash the rest of it.
He also warned against eating uncooked vegetables during the outbreak unless they have been properly cleaned or cooked.
“Eating raw vegetables at this point is probably not a good idea. We should probably wash them to remove pesticides anyway, or wax preservatives. For vegetables, if we cook them to 158 to 160 degrees, which is thoroughly cooked, it’s gonna kill this.”
Although Cyclospora infections are generally not considered life-threatening, anyone who thinks they may have contracted the parasite is being urged to seek medical advice, particularly because prolonged diarrhea can lead to dehydration. The CDC says cyclosporiasis is usually treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, while many healthy people recover without treatment, though illness can last for weeks and may relapse.
The CDC advises: “A Cyclospora infection sometimes goes away on its own. But if you don’t treat it, your symptoms may last for a month or longer. This puts you at risk of severe dehydration and other complications.”