It was reported yesterday that the Cyclosporiasis outbreak that hit Texas this summer appears to be over. The outbreak affected 133 people since May.
Image/CDC DPDx
The outbreak has been linked to fresh cilantro from a Mexican producer. On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement on the investigation:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Texas officials have been investigating an outbreak of Cyclospora infections in the state of Texas. According to the CDC, reported cyclosporiasis cases have returned to baseline levels in Texas.
As of August 26, 2014, CDC has been notified of 133 cases of Cyclospora infection in Texas among Texas residents who did not travel outside the country within the two weeks prior to becoming ill. Four hospitalizations have been reported in Texas. Texas state health officials reported that most cases of the illness occurred in June and July 2014.
Epidemiological and traceback investigations have been conducted at four different restaurants in Texas, where multiple unrelated ill persons reportedly have eaten. All the ill persons in these four clusters reported having eaten a food item containing fresh cilantro in the 2-14 days before they became ill. Preliminary FDA and Texas state traceback investigation indicates that cilantro suppliers in Puebla, Mexico were a source of the cilantro that was served at the four restaurants.
FDA has begun increased surveillance sampling on cilantro imported from firms in the Puebla, Mexico region. The FDA will continue working with Mexican authorities to determine if there is a common farm or growing area in Puebla, Mexico, which could have provided the fresh cilantro linked to the 2014 outbreak.
