Diarrhea-causing parasite outbreak found in salads across multiple states

Cyclosporiasis, a diarrhea-causing disease, was confirmed in salads July 1. July 17, federal health officials have reported 1645 cases and the CDC is aware of at least 5100 more potential cases.

The disease was found to be in lettuce from Mexico that was served at Taco Bell locations across five states in the US. According to AP News, an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration has identified a single supplier of the lettuce. The federal warnings did not tell consumers which company the disease was found in, but Taylor Fresh Foods, in Salinas, California, reported that it was an independent farm associated with their company.

On Thursday, Taco Bell sent out a message saying that they had taken “immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce. The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still warns people not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants until they find a way to stop the illness.

Causes of Cyclosporiasis

Health officials say that it takes about a week for symptoms to show after eating contaminated food. According to Serious Eats, common symptoms that people across the country are experiencing include watery diarrhea, cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss.

Although the symptoms aren’t dangerous and haven’t caused any reported deaths, they can be quite severe and last for a month or longer. Intense cases of diarrhea can happen up to 40 times a day as the parasites stay trapped inside your body. It is important to stay hydrated because cyclosporiasis can dehydrate you a lot and seek a doctor’s help to treat the disease as soon as possible.

How to Prevent Infection

Although we don’t have a clear idea of how cyclosporiasis gets into food or water, the best way to prevent it from getting into your body is to not consume foods that are said to be infected. It is important to always clean and wash your food before eating it to kill as much bacteria as possible.

According to the CDC, the steps to staying safe are washing thoroughly, knowing how to prepare your food, and how to store it. Not only do you wash your food, but also wash hands with soap and water before and after preparing raw food. To prepare, wash all fruits and vegetables under water before eating, cutting, or cooking, even if it is labeled as prewashed. The last step is to refrigerate your fruits and vegetables within a two-hour mark so you can prevent as many illnesses as possible.