The number of people getting sick from an intestinal parasite linked to McDonald's salads is now growing.
The CDC says 436 people have fallen ill. The outbreak of cyclospora began in May in the Midwest. At least 20 people were hospitalized.
Investigators are looking at bad romaine lettuce and carrots.
McDonald's says it switched to another salad supplier last Month.
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36 sick, 20 hospitalized due to parasitic illness linked to McDonald’s salads
Posted 11:57 AM, August 10, 2018, by CNN Wire
The CDC now says 436 people have been diagnosed with a laboratory-confirmed intestinal illness linked to salads sold at McDonald’s.
The cyclospora infection is part of an ongoing outbreak that began in May.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a statement confirming 395 illnesses. That number increased to 436 this week.
At least 20 people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported.
The cyclospora parasite causes intestinal illness in people who consumed contaminated food or water. Symptoms can begin a week or more after consuming the parasite. They include diarrhea and frequent, sometimes explosive bowel movements, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who are infected might also experience loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps or pain, nausea, gas, and fatigue. Vomiting, headache, fever, body aches and flu-like symptoms can also occur.
The illness can last a few days to a few months, and patients might feel better but then get worse again. Cyclosporiasis can be treated with antibiotics.
Illnesses have been reported in 15 states: Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. However, the patients in Connecticut, Michigan, Tennessee, and Virginia bought their salads in Illinois while traveling, and the Florida patient bought the salad in Kentucky.
The FDA said an unused package of a Fresh Express salad mix of romaine lettuce and carrots that had been distributed to McDonald’s tested positive for the presence of Cyclospora though it was past its July 19 expiration date.
“Epidemiologic evidence indicates that salads purchased from McDonald’s restaurants are one likely source of these infections. The investigation is ongoing, and FDA is working to determine the sources of the ingredients that were in common to the salads served at McDonald’s,” the CDC said in an outbreak update posted on its website Thursday.
McDonald’s said in a statement on July 13 that it had removed the salad mix from it’s impacted restaurants and replaced it with a different supplier.
In a recall statement on the Fresh Express website, the company said it had launched a “precautionary recall” of the institutional food service product on July 27 of a “limited number of cases.”
The statement said, “Fresh Express follows rigid food safety requirements and preventive controls throughout our supply chain that are carefully designed to mitigate against potential health risks.”
The company’s salad mix recall was connected with a public health alert issued on July 30 by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service advising consumers that certain salad and wrap products might be contaminated with cyclospora. The products were sold by grocery stores including Kroger, Trader Joe’s and Walgreens.
In the alert, the USDA said the issue was discovered when Indianapolis-based food distributor Caito Foods “received notification from their lettuce supplier, Fresh Express, that the chopped romaine that is used to manufacture some of their salads and wraps was being recalled.”
The lettuce from McDonald’s that tested positive for the cyclospora parasite was in the same lot as the lettuce distributed to Caito Foods, the CDC said Wednesday. “Fresh Express also reported that no romaine lettuce from the lot that was positive for cyclospora was packaged for direct retail sale to consumers,” the CDC said.
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Prevention & Control
On the basis of the currently available information, avoiding food or water that may have been contaminated with feces is the best way to prevent cyclosporiasis. Travelers to cyclosporiasis-endemic areas (such as tropical and subtropical regions) should be aware that treatment of water or food by routine chemical disinfection or sanitizing methods is unlikely to kill Cyclospora. No vaccine for cyclosporiasis is available.
Consumers and retailers should always follow safe fruit and vegetable handling recommendations:
Wash: Wash hands with soap and warm water before and after handling or preparing fruits and vegetables. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with soap and hot water between the preparation of raw meat, poultry, and seafood products and the preparation of fruits and vegetables that will not be cooked.
Prepare: Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting, or cooking. Fruits and vegetables that are labeled “prewashed” do not need to be washed again at home. Scrub firm fruits and vegetables, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush. Cut away any damaged or bruised areas on fruits and vegetables before preparing and eating.
Store: Refrigerate cut, peeled, or cooked fruits and vegetables as soon as possible, or within 2 hours. Store fruits and vegetables away from raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) publishes detailed food safety recommendations for growers and suppliers. In its Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, CFSAN describes good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good manufacturing practices (GMPs) for fresh fruits and vegetables. The guidelines address the growing, harvesting, sorting, packaging, and storage processes; following the guidelines can help reduce the overall risk for microbial contamination during these processes. The precise ways that food and water become contaminated with Cyclospora oocysts are not fully understood.
CDC monitors the occurrence of cyclosporiasis in the United States and helps state health departments identify and investigate cyclosporiasis outbreaks to prevent additional cases of illness.