Cyclosporiasis outbreak that sickened tens of thousands officially over, CDC says
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asserted
CDC → sicken → thousands
The massive diarrhea-causing parasitic outbreak that sickened tens of thousands of people across 21 states over the summer has ended, though officials continue to investigate the cause of contamination.
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officials → cause → contamination
On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the cyclosporiasis outbreak officially over, saying the number of recent infections — primarily in the Midwest and on the East Coast — has significantly declined and linked recalled products are past their shelf life and out of stores.
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products → declare → stores
Between May 1 and Tuesday, the CDC recorded 12,883 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, 570 hospitalizations and 2 cyclosporiasis-related deaths.
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CDC → record → cyclosporiasis
“At this time, there is no risk of people getting sick with cyclosporiasis from this source,” according to the CDC.
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people → be → CDC
There are no known cyclosporiasis outbreaks in California, but officials say case numbers are higher than they expected for this point in the season.
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they → be → season
Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are still investigating the processed iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms that was linked to the outbreak.
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that → investigate → outbreak
Two months ago, epidemiological information collected by the CDC found that thousands of people had become ill after eating Taco Bell meals containing shredded iceberg lettuce between June 22 and July 20.
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thousands → collect → June
The supply at the eateries was traced back to a Taylor Farms facility in Central Mexico.
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supply → trace → Mexico
In mid-July, the company — which also operates as Taylor Fresh Foods — removed the outsourced lettuce from the U.S. market and issued a voluntary recall of potentially contaminated products.
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which → operate → products
Despite outperforming other fast food chains and posting impressive same-store sales, the Mexican-inspired chain Taco Bell has taken a hit after being linked to Cyclospora.
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chain → outperform → Cyclospora
A sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico did at one point falsely test positive for the cyclosporiasis parasite.
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sample → test → parasite
However, FDA officials said the false positive did not change the course of the outbreak investigation, “or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the ... voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”
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positive → say → Farms
According to the CDC, cyclosporiasis is rarely fatal.
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cyclosporiasis → accord → CDC
The two people who died during the outbreak were both from the epicenter state, Michigan, and may have had underlying health conditions that made them vulnerable to the gastrointestinal illness and dehydration that can come with the disease.
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that → die → disease
Officials say at the peak of the outbreak, before the recall, more than 1,000 infections occurred in a single day.
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infections → say → day
By August, fewer than 2 infections were occurring per day, on average.
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infections → occur → day
However, the state public health department did see an uptick in cyclosporiasis cases.
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department → see → cases
Michigan health authorities were in touch with Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands Inc., about cyclospora weeks before the company officially alerted consumers.
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company → alert → consumers
Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 21, there were 336 confirmed and probable cyclosporiasis cases in California, the state health department reported.
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department → be → California
Of those, 65 were domestically acquired, meaning infected people became ill either in the state or after traveling within the United States.
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people → acquire → States
Two of these individuals traveled to an outbreak-affected state, ate at a Taco Bell and became ill.
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Two → travel → Bell
The rest became ill after traveling internationally.
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rest → become → ?
The California Department of Public Health said the high number of cyclosporiasis cases in the state could be attributed to:
- An increased awareness of the illness due to national attention on the outbreak, leading to an increase in testing
- Overall improvements to the department’s surveillance and data-collection methods
- An increase in cases in people who traveled to areas with outbreaks, whether international or domestic
Food safety experts said identifying the source of a foodborne illness such as cyclosporiasis is a challenge because public health investigators need to analyze multiple pieces of evidence from available public health data, follow a potential food source through the supply chain and test samples of potentially contaminated food.
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investigators → say → food
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