Cyclospora parasite cases reported in DFW as nationwide outbreak spreads

DALLAS - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory to doctors, as well as state and local health officials, over an outbreak of cyclosporiasis cases since May 1.

Cyclospora Outbreak

What's new:

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are still trying to identify the source of the lettuce or leafy greens that have been making people sick. They haven’t yet pinpointed a specific producer or vendor.

As a precaution, some restaurants such as Taco Bell have begun pulling lettuce and leafy greens from their menus, especially in Michigan, where the concentration of cases is highest.

By the numbers:

There were 249 confirmed cases of the summertime parasite in the United States last year.

So far this summer, there have been more than 10 times that number of confirmed or suspected cases. The total is approaching 7,000 across 30 states.

Local perspective:

So far, there have been fewer than 100 cases in Texas. Two handfuls are confirmed in Dallas County, and even fewer than that have been reported in Tarrant County.

What they're saying:

"This parasite, cyclospora, has been seems to have this annual breakout, you know. But this is kind of surprising because the numbers now are actually much higher than we anticipated," said Dr. Alejando Perez,  with the Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates.

"The symptoms, you know, largely it’s a watery diarrhea and if the diarrhea doesn’t go away after a few days, or one other thing that’s characteristic is it can come and go. So you can get some recovery for a few days and then it comes back and that’s one sort of distinctive characteristic about cyclospora in particular," added Dr. Philip Huang, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services.

What you can do:

Doctors are encouraging people to wash their fruits and vegetables.

"Eating more at home, making sure you’re washing your fruits and vegetables. Running water, soap for solid vegetables even though it doesn’t decrease 100% or eliminate it 100% the parasite, it decreases their weight," said Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, an infectious diseases specialist.

It’s also not a bad idea to keep a daily food journal until this outbreak passes because the symptoms may take seven to 10 days to appear. 

HealthDallas County