A mystery stomach bug has been identified in at least six states. Fox News reported that the bug may be linked to foodborne illness. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) said in a statement on July 22 that the illness is called the cyclospora infection. It apparently causes diarrhea and flu like symptoms.
Thus far it has been identified in Texas, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia and Connecticut. The CDC noted that there have been ten people hospitalized with many of them reporting the illness from mid June to early July.
"The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cyclospora infections, which are most often found in tropical or subtropical countries and have been linked to imported fresh produce in the past," reported Fox News. "The agency said it is not yet clear whether the cases from each of the six states are part of the same outbreak."
Isciencetimes.com reported that in Iowa 118 people have been reported with the bug, in Texas there was 65 people and in Nebraska 68.
NBC News reported that officials in Nebraska believe that fresh vegetables might be the source of the stomach bug and that it could be one or more types of produce that is contaminated by cyclospora or it could also have to do with contaminated water that is used to grow the produce.
It is still however not determined what the actual source is.
"Nothing has been implicated yet in a formal sense," said Barbara Herwaldt, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC reported Isciencetimes.com. "No food item has been identified as the source of the outbreak."
The CDC website stated the following symptoms of a Cyclospora infection:
"Symptoms of cyclosporiasis may include:
- Watery diarrhea (most common)
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Cramping
- Bloating
- Increased gas
- Nausea
- Fatigue
Other symptoms that may occur but are less common include:
- Vomiting
- Low-grade fever"
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
