The Sudden Outbreak of Cyclospora

Savina A. Avila

Section 6

Savina Avila

Stacey Martin

Bacteriology Lab

16 October 2013

The Sudden Outbreak of Cyclospora

According to ABC News, in a local Olive Garden in Kansas, a 29 year old woman named Megan Provost came in to eat just a salad and just after eating the salad, she experienced the worst stomach pain her life. She knew it wasn’t just the stomach flu, she thought it was something more than that. She thought she had the parasite that has been spreading around Nebraska that has been contaminating food around a few states already. Even though only one case of Cyclospora has been reported in the state of Kansas, she was sure she had the parasite after eating the salad from Olive Garden. The local farm in Nebraska that produces the packaged salad for their Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants seems to be the blame for the Cyclospora outbreak, but Taylor Farms (the farm producing the packaged salads) said it has only shipped the salads to Nebraska and Iowa. It is still unclear about the other states that have reported Cyclospora about how their food got contaminated and if they came from the same farm that had contaminated salads. As of then, there is no exact place of origin where the parasite came from and from where it was picked up from. There have been cases reported from Florida, Texas, Kansas and many other states that people have been contaminated with Cyclospora because people ate food without realizing it was already contaminated with the parasite. None of these are actually related to Taylor Farm packaging, yet the parasite has been spreading. It is rare for the U.S to even seen this parasite outbreak, but until they reach the main source of the outbreak, that’s the only way to control and seize this.

What exactly is Cyclospora? According to the CDC (Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention), Cyclospora (Cyclospora cayetanensis) is actually a one cell parasite that is too small to be seen with a microscope. Once it gets inside your body, it causes an infection in your intestines which is called Cyclosporiasis. The way that Cyclospora can be spread is when people ingest water or fresh foods that have been contaminated with feces already. It is unlikely that a person can pass it on to another person because it actually takes days or even weeks for Cyclospora to go through bowel movements in ones system before developing the parasite. With that per say, if I touch someone or kiss someone that same day that they have eaten a contaminated food or drank contaminated water, I will not have the parasite because the parasite needs about a few days or weeks to grow inside the intestines. The people who are more at risk to Cyclospora are actually the ones that live in the tropical or subtropical regions in the U.S. Even though the U.S has reported cases already, the food that seems to be contaminated are fresh produce that have been imported into the U.S. The only possible way to avoid the Cyclospora infection is to avoid possible contaminated foods and water to help prevent the Cyclospora to spread even more. People who have already been infected Cyclospora can get infected again.

As of today, no new reported cases of the Cyclospora have been reported to the U.S, but total cases so far have been reported and accounted for. As of today, a total of 643 cases of the Cyclospora infection, coming from 25 states and New York City have been reported to the CDC. As shocking as it sounds, indeed half of the U.S was infected with this parasite because of fresh foods and water being spread while contaminated. The states that were affected the most was Texas (278 cases reported), Iowa (153 cases reported), Nebraska (86 cases reported), and Florida (32 cases reported). The outbreak has been controlled and seized, thus the parasite is no longer spreading rapidly across the U.S as of today.

Works Cited

"Cyclosporiasis FAQs." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.
"Investigation of an Outbreak of Cyclosporiasis in the United States Map." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.
Lupkin, Sydney. "Mystery Continues in Cyclospora Stomach Bug Outbreak." ABC News. ABC News Network, 6 Aug. 2013. Web. 3 Aug. 2013.