Everything you need to know about deadly cyclosporiasis outbreak, according to Stanford expert
A cyclosporiasis outbreak is currently ravaging the US, with only three states reporting zero cases since 1 May.
At the time of writing, there have been two deaths, 517 hospitalisations and more than 22,000 confirmed and probable cases have been logged, with experts already investigating the cause of thousands of foodborne illness reports.
Experts at Stanford Medicine have been collating information about the parasitic infection, including exactly what it is, how long it may take to manifest, and what methods you should employ to avoid the health concern in the future.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is cyclosporiasis?
Thousands of people in the United States are currently suffering from the parasitic infection known as cyclosporiasis.
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The illness, caused by a microscopic parasite called Cyclospora, spreads through food or water contaminated with human faeces.
Symptoms can start within a week of ingestion, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
However, incubation can sometimes be delayed, making it difficult for those affected to pinpoint the source.
How dangerous is cyclosporiasis?
David Relman, professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology at Stanford Medicine, stated that cyclosporiasis can be extremely dangerous.
“Cyclosporiasis is a potentially very serious infection, especially for people who are young, elderly, immune-impaired or sick for other reasons,” he warned.
“Even for healthy people, cyclosporiasis can be pretty debilitating.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported more than 10,400 laboratory-confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis since 1 May.
It is understood that two people have died in connection with the large multi-state outbreak, with experts claiming the fatalities both had ‘significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration’.
How is cyclosporiasis diagnosed?
According to Relman, a doctor who sees someone who ‘rolls into the emergency room with a terrible case of diarrhoea and looks sick’ is likely to order a stool sample.
This will be sent to a laboratory ‘for a battery of PCR tests for all of the most common diarrheal disease agents’.
“People should be reassured that most healthcare facilities are going to have a means of getting a sample to a place that will do this specific PCR test pretty quickly,” Relman said.
Other symptoms that your health provider may pick up on include: cramps, bloating, loss of appetite, fever, and digestive changes, such as weight loss and excessive gas.
How is cyclosporiasis treated?
Once you have been diagnosed with the parasite, doctors are likely to order you on a course of antibiotics.
The senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University explained that this will probably last between seven and ten days.
Fluid replacement is also an integral part of successful treatment and recovery.
If you don’t want to take antibiotics, then it could take up to a month for symptoms to ease.
How to avoid cyclosporiasis in the future?
The first port of call when avoiding cyclosporiasis is to steer clear of any recalled food, as per the CDC.
In this case, shredded lettuce from Mexico is one of the items linked to infection, an FDA notice warned.
Relman also advised swapping supermarket trips for pilgrimages to the farmer’s market.
“If you’re able to purchase produce locally from a known vendor who’s not sourcing it from all over the place but rather from one local farm, that’s probably a safer bet,” he stated.
Other ways to avoid infection include cooking your food before consuming it.
He reasoned that if you don’t have a ‘strong need to immediately consume suspicious produce in a raw form’ and have the option of boiling it, then you should go for it.
Ella Scott