Cyclospora outbreak in NW Georgia

In May of this year, an outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis was reported in northwest Georgia. At the time of this writing, the outbreak consists of 19 cases of illness with the parasite. No specific product has been currently linked to the outbreak. Typically, illness with Cyclospora has been linked to consumption of produce grown outside the United States, although recently domestically grown products like leafy greens or cilantro have been implicated in outbreaks.

Cases of cyclosporiasis are rare and tend not to exceed groups of 100 to 200 cases per outbreak. However, the illness tends to be very prolonged, with watery diarrhea (sometimes described as frequent and explosive) lasting for a few days to as long as a month or longer, after an initial period of 7 to 10 days from ingestion. The illness can also go away only to recur one or more times. Other symptoms include loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps, bloating, increased gas, nausea, and fatigue. Rarer symptoms include vomiting, body aches, low-grade fever, and flu-like symptoms. No deaths have been attributed to Cyclospora, but the long duration of the illness, as well as its ability to recur (sometimes multiple times)?can make contracting cyclosporiasis particularly unpleasant.

Bill Centrella remind us that strong epidemiologic evidence indicates that the organism may be seasonal, causing infections in the US from May to July – Georgia health officials first announced the investigation of the current outbreak on May 18th, and the FDA followed up with an outbreak announcement on May 24th.

Analytical Food Laboratories is capable of testing for Cyclospora on fresh produce, including leafy greens (such as lettuces, cilantro, and basil), soft fruits (such as raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries), and whole vegetables (such as beans or peas) using a real-time PCR method as described in FDA-BAM Chapter 19b. If you have any questions about this method, or you want to arrange testing for your product, please contact us.

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