Fresh herbs are being investigated as possible sources of a separate ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite outbreak in North Carolina.
At a press briefing last week, state health officials said parsley and cilantro, alongside lettuce, were ‘showing up repeatedly’ in interviews with patients who had fallen ill.
Officials have not revealed where the patients ate before becoming sick or how many cases have been linked to each ingredient.
North Carolina has recorded 561 cases of cyclosporiasis and 16 related hospitalizations to date. The illness is caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which spreads through food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person.
It is not believed the North Carolina cases are connected to the nationwide outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, which has sickened thousands of people across more than nine states.
Last night, Michigan recorded more than 1,000 new cases, taking its total to 9,000 infections. Wisconsin registered another 100 cases, while Arkansas reported 13 more.
Overall, more than 11,000 Americans have been sickened and 98 have been hospitalized with the disease since the start of the year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) reporting of the outbreak has been hampered by delays and discrepancies between federal figures and state health department data, with several states reporting substantially more cases than appear in the CDC’s tally.
Parsley and cilantro are being investigated in North Carolina as being potentially linked to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis in the state
FDA officials are scrambling to find the source of the major outbreak after tests on lettuce from Taylor Farms’ facility in Mexico returned a false-positive.
The business has issued a recall for its lettuce and shut down production at its factory linked to the outbreak.
At the press briefing in North Carolina, health officials said the link between parsley, cilantro and the illness had not been confirmed, and was only suggested based on interviews with patients.
In a release from earlier this month, officials in the state also said: ‘Commonly reported foods linked to cases in North Carolina include parsley, cilantro and lettuce.’
The release marks the first time a cyclosporiasis outbreak has been linked to a food other than iceberg lettuce.
It was not clear how the herbs may have become contaminated.
Like lettuce, they can also become contaminated if they are irrigated with water that is laced with human feces containing the cyclosporiasis parasite.
Patients develop symptoms of an infection with the parasite within a week.
To track the source, health officials interview patients about their diets and then compare answers between them to identify a food that may be contaminated.
To avoid an infection, people are being advised to wash all fresh herbs and produce thoroughly before consuming them.
Advice also included cutting any damaged or bruised areas off produce before consumption and peeling off the outer leaves.
Nine states, not including North Carolina, are now linked to the major outbreak: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
In an update on Friday last week, the CDC said: ‘Epidemiologic and traceback data continue to show that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico was contaminated with Cyclospora and has made people sick.’
Health officials are currently tracking six separate outbreaks of cyclospora nationwide.
It does not mean that the cases are unrelated to the main outbreak, health officials say, but they may have been listed separately because they have been linked to a separate food.
Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal illness causing symptoms including watery and explosive diarrhea, cramping and a fever.
Patients become sick within a week of infection, which can make it difficult to identify the source.
Individuals suffering from the parasite may also feel they are getting better, before symptoms suddenly become much worse again.
Patients infected in the major outbreak have told the Daily Mail that they were left going to the bathroom ‘constantly’ and were hospitalized by the parasite.
