Thousands of cases of cyclosporosis, an infectious disease caused by an intestinal parasite, are currently recorded. Health authorities are on alert.
An epidemic of cyclosporosis “of an unusual magnitude”, as Reuters specifies, mobilizes the health authorities. This intestinal infection is caused by a parasite called “Cyclospora cayetanensis”, transmitted mainly by ingestion of contaminated water or food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 1,645 cases (compared to 249 last year) and informed in an alert issued on July 14 that the actual number of patients would be higher than this figure. 5,000 people are still waiting for their diagnosis and 141 are hospitalized.
Cyclosporosis is a gastrointestinal pathology whose symptoms generally appear a week after exposure to the parasite. Infected people experience diarrhea, sometimes very severe, abdominal cramps, nausea, loss of appetite and marked fatigue. An increase in cases is expected each year between May and August due to greater consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, the main vector of contamination, but the epidemic is much greater this year. And a specific food is already suspected of being the cause of this outbreak.
It is in the United States that the epidemic is raging: 34 out of 50 states are affected. Investigations focus on foods consumed raw. Among the avenues studied is lettuce, particularly in ready-to-eat salads. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators are currently carrying out traceability investigations to identify a supplier. No brand, no producer and no distributor have, at this stage, been officially designated as being at the origin of this epidemic. Lettuce is considered the most serious hypothesis.
The CDC asks healthcare professionals to systematically consider cyclosporiasis in patients with prolonged diarrhea and to order specific tests when this infection is suspected. For the general public, the recommendations are simple: wash fruits and vegetables carefully before consumption, practice rigorous hand hygiene and consult quickly in the event of persistent diarrhea.
To date, no cyclosporosis epidemic is underway in France. Cases of cyclosporosis are very rare in France. They are most often sporadic and concern people returning from a trip to an area where the parasite is endemic such as Central and South America, South and Southeast Asia and certain regions of Africa.
