Cyclospora is a
parasite that is known to cause disease in humans. It was first found in the United
States when fecally contaminated raspberries were imported around 1990. When Cyclospora causes disease it is usually
acquired when a person travels to an endemic area. The symptoms of Cyclospora infection are gastroenteritis
which includes watery diarrhea for which it has gotten the name travelers’
diarrhea. Humans are the only host and it is transmitted by the fecal oral
route. Though this can be quite unpleasant it is a rare and self-limiting
infection. Though unlikely if left untreated it averages 2 month of diarrhea.
Recently dozens have gotten sick in Iowa with this parasite.
In the last 20 years only ten cases of Cyclospora
were reported and in the last few weeks 45 have gotten sick in Iowa and
another 35 in Nebraska. Currently the source is still under investigation but
it is believed to be a shipment of vegetables from a single farm outside of Iowa.
Because it can take two weeks for
symptoms to appear it has been hard to find the shipment responsible for the
contamination. Fresh vegetables don’t usually last two weeks and the new cases
are slowing. Remember the benefits of vegetable are much more than the risks of
contaminated food.
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