Infected Lettuce

A major outbreak of cyclosporiasis has emerged from Taylor Farms lettuce since May 1st, reaching twenty states and infecting more than 18,000 people.

"It's resulted in a public that's a little more on edge and panic about what's going on because of the poor communication," former FDA and USDA official Jerold Mande said.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection caused by the parasite cyclospora cayetanensis. The illness can lead to symptoms such as diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, cramping, bloating, increased gas, and nausea. These symptoms may appear anytime between two days to two weeks after being infected. While some people only take a few days to recover, other cases can last longer than a month without proper medication.

However, not all people experience symptoms when they catch the disease. And those with symptoms need to specifically request to be tested for cyclosporiasis, so the process of getting diagnosed can take a while.

“There can be a substantial delay between someone becoming ill, being diagnosed, being interviewed by public health officials, and ultimately having their illness linked to an outbreak,” professor of infectious diseases Dr. Colleen Kraft said.

The outbreak was discovered to have spread from a specific variety of lettuce known as iceberg lettuce. This lettuce is commonly used in meals at Taco Bell. Many customers began avoiding Taco Bell after this discovery in fear of catching the disease themselves. Taco Bell refused to disclose their lettuce supplier for a while, claiming it was “confidential commercial information.” But the supplier was revealed a few days later when Taylor Farms of Mexico issued a recall. Their lettuce not only ends up at Taco Bell, but also many popular grocery stores. Even then, it wasn’t until a week after the recall that Taylor Farms gave the location of the farm where the outbreak started.

“I find that it’s sort of disappointing that this happened, because Walmart, Whole Foods, and then Trader Joe’s all have the same lettuce. So it’s kind of a let down for people who were buying the organic, fresh lettuce to see that they were getting the same exact lettuce they would have got from Walmart,” NHS sophomore Tess Rickey said.

Cyclosporiasis is most active in the U.S. during spring and summer. Last year during this time period, there were only about 1,000 reported cases. This year, however, that number jumped to over 18,000. There have also been nearly 1,000 hospitalizations and two deaths.The outbreak peaked in early July, and states near Michigan and Ohio have been most heavily affected.

“I think that it’s a little funny but mostly sucks. In general no one should have to worry about your food giving you diarrhea like that,” NHS sophomore Isaiah Ribeiro said.

Cases this year have set historical records, and it’s not the only sudden rise in food related illnesses. There have been numerous smaller outbreaks among other digestive diseases such as Salmonella, E.coli, and Listeria. The FDA is hard at work studying all these cases in hopes to stop them and prevent future outbreaks. The FDA has never had this many investigations open at once, and this rise in unknown outbreaks is heavily blamed on bad policy.

“In terms of the risk to consumers now, if today for dinner you wanted to go out and eat a salad, you’re pretty safe from cyclospora at this point, as far as we know,” Associate Professor of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Matthew Moore said.

If someone were to catch this disease, staying hydrated is important. They would also need to ask their doctor to be tested for it and receive medication. Cooking food to temperatures of 158°F can also kill the parasite. Cooking food thoroughly is important for avoiding different food-related illnesses. Investigations for the other outbreaks are still under way, so people should be careful with where they are getting their food from.