In an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week, health officials report an additional 19 cases of cyclosporiasis during the past week bringing the total to 476 ill persons with confirmed Cyclospora infection were reported to CDC in 2015.
Cases have been confirmed from 58 percent of the states (29).
Health officials say most of these persons—282 (59%) of 476—experienced onset of illness on or after May 1, 2015, and did not have a history of international travel within 2 weeks before illness onset. These 282 persons were from the following 22 states: Arkansas (2), California (2), Connecticut (3), Florida (10), Georgia (23), Illinois (7), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (9), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Montana (3), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (6), New Mexico (2), New York (excluding NYC) (8), New York City (21), Texas (162), Utah (1), Virginia (3), Washington (2), and Wisconsin (10).
Clusters of illness linked to restaurants or events have been identified in Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Cluster investigations are ongoing in Texas and Georgia. Cluster investigations in Wisconsin and Texas have preliminarily identified cilantro as a suspect vehicle. Investigations are ongoing to identify specific food item(s) linked to the cases that are not part of the identified clusters.
In addition, it was recently reported that Canada has seen 87 cyclospora cases this year. Investigations are ongoing.
Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today
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