Two hospitalizations and 42 cases of domestic cyclosporiasis were added to Wisconsin’s outbreak totals in the past week, according to Wisconsin health officials.
The state Department of Health Services said Wednesday, Aug. 13 there have been 251 cases of cyclosporiasis in the state, including 136 cases among people who did not report traveling internationally prior to having symptoms.
The intestinal illness is caused by a parasite, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has been linked to “watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements.”
Last week, the state’s health agency reported 94 cases of domestic cyclosporiasis out of 216 total cases. A typical cyclosporiasis season in Wisconsin runs from May 1 to Aug. 31 with roughly 20 to 30 domestically acquired cases.
The outbreak was first identified in July when individuals became sick after eating iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell. The lettuce was traced back to Taylor Farms, which voluntarily recalled its product from Central Mexico on July 17. All recalled Taylor Farms products are now past their expiration dates. FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas told CNBC that all iceberg lettuce linked to cyclosporiasis has been “effectively removed from the market.”
However, the CDC still expects case counts to continue rising in the coming weeks because it can take up to six weeks for a case to be reported after the illness is contracted.
A timeline of Wisconsin’s cyclosporiasis updates
Are cyclosporiasis cases rising nationwide?
The CDC reported 13,895 cases of cyclosporiasis in the United States on Aug. 11. Nationwide data, which goes back to May 1, also shows 740 hospitalizations and two deaths.
Michigan continues to be the most-affected state with between 4,000 and 6,999 cases of cyclosporiasis. The state has also been the only one to report cyclosporiasis deaths, which were said to involve individuals that had “severe underlying health conditions.”
Ohio is the next most-affected state, reported to have between 1,000 and 3,999 cases. The state crossed the 1,000-case threshold in the past week. North Carolina, Indiana and Illinois are the only other states with more than 500 reported cases of cyclosporiasis.
Nationwide, the age of people with cyclosporiasis has ranged from 1 to 98 years old.
The CDC is investigating other outbreaks from unrelated sources, it said in its Aug. 11 update. It is also aware of over 10,400 additional cases that are not yet laboratory confirmed.
What is cyclosporiasis?
The intestinal disease is caused by a microscopic parasite called Cyclospora cayetanensis. The number of reported cases tends to rise in the spring and summer, but typically the disease is not life-threatening.
People become infected by consuming contaminated food or water. Those living or traveling in tropical or subtropical places may be at increased risk, though the CDC said in its report that current cases involve people who became sick after eating food in the United States and didn’t report any travel during the two weeks prior to getting sick.
What are the symptoms of cyclosporiasis?
Not all people infected with cyclosporiasis show symptoms, but in addition to diarrhea, it commonly causes:
Less common symptoms include vomiting, body aches, headache, low-grade fever and other flu-like symptoms.
The timing between infection and becoming sick is typically about a week, but can be as short as two days or longer than two weeks. If left untreated, the illness can last over a month, and symptoms can clear before returning one or more times.
How can I prevent cyclosporiasis?
The best way to prevent the illness is by avoiding contaminated food or water and following safe food-handling practices:
Lance Schulteis can be reached at LSchulteis@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin reports 251 cyclosporiasis cases as outbreak continues
Reporting by Lance Schulteis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Lance Schulteis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
