A large number of people from Texas and four states of the US has been infected with an intestinal parasite named cyclosporiasis parasite. Seven people from +200 needed hospital services, but no deaths have been reported.
The people that have fallen ill presented symptoms as stomach cramps/pains, weight loss, lack of appetite, nausea, fatigue, and gas. Also headaches, body muscular pains, headaches, fever and other symptoms similar to catching flu.
Prevent disease
The frequency of contamination with Cyclospora is increased in summer. To keep yourself away from it, the officials recommended washing hands, kitchen utensils, countertops and dishes. Also, raw meat and vegetable should be well cooked. The illness can last from a few days to a few months. Patients can be prescribed antibiotics. One can notice an improvement in their condition, but then it can get worse. The age differs from 13 to 79 years old.
Del Monte recalled trays
The mass illness is caused by the brand Del Monte that has sold in May infected varied-sized trays, containing carrots, cauliflower, celery sticks, dill dip and broccoli. The vegetable boxes have been sold in Peapod markets located in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and other stores as Kwik Star, Sentry, Potash, Meehan’s, FoodMax Supermarket, Country Market, Demond’s.
Areas under risk
The areas affected are Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. Michigan faced also risks related to outbreak “The two cases from Michigan reportedly purchased the vegetable tray in Wisconsin and therefore Michigan is not impacted from this outbreak.” Since the beginning of May, Texas reported 56 cases of cyclospora. “DSHS [Department of State Health Services] is working with local health departments around the state and health departments in other states seeing an outbreak to gather information about the cases and determine whether there is a common source for the infections.”
If you remember that you consumed raw products and have one of the aforementioned symptoms for more than 3 days, you may need specialized medical assistance.