A cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to a lettuce production facility in Mexico has now spread to nine U.S. states, with just under 2,000 cases confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ohio has reported more than 1,400 cases and dozens of hospitalizations, prompting the deployment of a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service team to assist the state’s health department in Columbus.
The outbreak comes two weeks after being linked to the Mexico facility, and the number of cases continues to mount, especially across the Midwest.
The nature of the illness, in which symptoms can take more than two weeks to manifest, complicates efforts to assess its impact and fully identify all affected individuals.
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Gwen Biggerstaff, the CDC’s Deputy Director of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, stated that the agency anticipates an increase in identified cases as investigations continue. “We do actually expect that we’re going to keep identifying cases as we continue investigating because of that lag, how long it might take for us to know about the case,” Biggerstaff said.
She explained the process: “Someone has to eat a food, get sick, go to their doctor, and then once the state health department learns about it, they actually call an interview with that person and ask about where they went, what they ate.”
Biggerstaff clarified the team’s mission in Ohio. “They’re there to assist the fantastic professionals that are in Ohio to help with some of the additional burdens that they’ll be helping with, doing interviews and helping with case management and data management,” she said. The team is on site to provide “surge capacity” to the state health department.
The CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service team will remain in Columbus to support the Ohio Department of Health for as long as needed.
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