The number of cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan grew to 10,077 on Wednesday, July 29, a 397-case (4%) increase from the previous day, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive, told NBC News that hospital visits featuring complaints of diarrhea are also slowing down, suggesting the outbreak in Michigan may have peaked. The asterisk is that people with mild symptoms may be getting underreported.
“We have heard recently from some of our health systems that because of backlogs in their labs, and because of limitations with testing supplies, they have been limiting tests to those who are severely ill, or those who are immunocompromised,” Bagdasarian said.
Michigan health officials and the Centers for Disease Control are still investigating the outbreak’s cause, and have not reported nailing down a lead yet.
A July 23 update showed Wayne County as having the most cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan with 1,201 — 165 cases reported by the City of Detroit Health Department and 1,036 reported by the Wayne County Health Department. Washtenaw County had the next most cases with 773, and Oakland County was third at 710.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 41 states have confirmed cases of the disease, according to a July 21 surveillance update. On the website, the CDC recorded 4,173 laboratory-confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis, and recognizes 7,400 more that require further analysis and investigation.
The CDC acknowledged it may report lower numbers than local state-recorded cases, as it uses a different system to record and investigate cases.
Michigan remains one of the hardest-hit among the states included in the outbreak. Alongside Ohio, the two midwest states stand alone in CDC data with the highest lab-confirmed cases: Michigan, with a range of 901 to 2,100 lab-confirmed cases, and Ohio with 301 to 500.
States surrounding the midwest have followed suit: Indiana, New York and North Carolina have all shown ranges of 161 to 300 lab-confirmed cases, according to the CDC.
Cyclosporiasis, an infection often causing cramping and explosive diarrhea, stems from an outbreak of the microscopic parasite cyclospora. A July 24 release from the CDC has positively linked a multi-state outbreak of the disease to iceberg lettuce, which has prompted wide recalls across the country.
The CDC said outbreaks often stem from human feces contaminating a common food source or from drinking contaminated water.
As of Thursday, the last time hospitalization numbers were released by the state, 160 Michigan cases have been hospitalized.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan passes 10,000 cases in cyclosporiasis outbreak
Reporting by Tristan McFolley, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tristan McFolley, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
