Foodborne Illnesses Double

While cyclosporiasis diagnoses have been very rare over the past few years, we're starting to see a dramatic change, with reported cases multiplying by the day.

Cyclosporiasis is an illness that is contracted from the contamination of feces, and side effects include loss of appetite, diarrhea, body aches, stomach cramps, and fatigue. Even worse, some cases have reported that side effects lasted up to 57 days. Officials suggest that people fully and thoroughly wash their fruits and vegetables before eating them. In Iowa, at least one person has been hospitalized, and 45 cases have been reported; in Nebraska no cases have been reported in four years, but 35 have been reported in the past month.

While food agents still haven't tracked the source of the disease, they believe the disease is coming from fresh produce, most specifically vegetables and not fruit. The disease has traditionally been traced to blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, basil, arugula, and various salads, but more recently they are finding vegetables as the sole source of the disease.

The Department of Public Health are scrambling to figure out where the cyclosporiasis outbreak is coming from, and curing it as soon as possible.