Fresh vegetables should be very healthy but health officials in Iowa suggest that it may be the source of a recent cyclospora outbreak in Iowa affecting dozens of locals.
The public health investigators did not specify on Friday which type of vegetable have caused severe diarrhea to the locals but they were looking at a farm outside Iowa as the source.
There were 45 cases recorded in Iowa and 35 in Nebraska by Friday. The health officials consider this the worst attack of a rare parasite carrying the cyclospora since there were only 10 cases reported in two decades. The patients may have gotten infected in the middle of June.
If left untreated, the patient may suffer up to 57 days of diarrhea in average. There were two patients admitted in the hospital due to dehydration and more are expected to come in the next few days.
"This one's got our attention," said Barbara Chadwick, clinical services manager for the Linn County Health Department in USA Today. There were 21 cases reported in the county.
The health officials interviewed the people infected and asked them of the food they ate for the past two weeks as the cyclospora usually manifest itself as late as two weeks. After listing all the responses they gathered, they have identified a common food which may be a possible source of the contamination—a fruit sold commercially. However, they admitted that this needs further investigation because not everyone would remember in detail what they have eaten for the past two weeks.
For now, the locals were reminded to wash their fruits and vegetables carefully while they haven’t identified a solid source.
"We're not just talking about running them under some water and giving them a little pat," Chadwick said in USA Today. "It's about soaking them and giving them a good scrubbing."
The health officials do not discourage people to stop eating fresh vegetables but reminded them to be careful and follow the advice of scrubbing it cautiously.
