Lettuce analysis was incorrect – parasite outbreak in the US is increasing

 

Felix Wilow 

 

Published 12:48

 

A mysterious parasite was first traced to Taco Bell. Photo: Paul Sancya /AP/TT / AP

A mysterious parasite was first traced to Taco Bell.

Now it turns out that the test was negative.

At the same time, more and more people continue to fall ill.

An outbreak of cyclospora is spreading in the US. Over 8,000 cases have been reported, writes CNN, and in Michigan alone the figure is over 6,000, according to the state health authority.

Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia have also been affected, according to the US public health authority, CDC.

Vegetables were initially suspected to be the source of the infection and last week lettuce leaves from the fast food chain Taco Bell were pointed out. Several of those infected are said to have eaten there recently and a test by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later determined that this was the case. Supplier Taylor Farms has recalled the product, but now the agency is backing down and saying the ruling was incorrect.

“Does NOT affect”

Taylor Farms is a major supplier of fruits and vegetables in the US and according to them, the FDA has apologized.

“To be clear, the FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora at this time,” Taylor Farms said in a statement.

Meanwhile, lettuce remains the focus of the infection tracking effort.

“To be clear: this false-positive laboratory test result does NOT affect the basis for FDA’s ongoing investigation of the outbreak or the overwhelming epidemiological data that underpins Taylor Farms’ current voluntary recall,” the FDA wrote in a statement on X.

Common symptoms include severe diarrhea, cramps, decreased appetite, nausea and fatigue. One sufferer the New York Times spoke to described it as “being hit in the stomach with a baseball bat.”

Infection tracing is described as extremely challenging.

“Needle in a haystack”

Food safety expert Jennifer McEntire tells the Wall Street Journal that it is significantly trickier than with many other diseases. One reason is that cyclospora cannot be cultivated – in order to produce a larger amount of genetic material for study.

“You are looking for a needle in a haystack,” she tells the Wall Street Journal.

“With E. coli and salmonella, you can make the needle bigger if you find it. That doesn’t happen with cyclospora.”

Criticism of the Trump administration

In connection with the outbreak, there has also been criticism of the White House’s severe cutbacks. The doctor and laboratory director Joel Barratt tells CNN that his group has been reduced from eleven people to three.

In total, the CDC has lost a third of its staff since last year.

At the same time, there are several warnings that employees are forced to do more work with fewer resources in the event of similar outbreaks, writes CNN.

“The effort is being hampered by the loss of specialized personnel and the loss of the hands-on workers needed to identify the source of the outbreaks,” says Joel Barratt.

The cuts have affected, among other things, the CDC and FDA’s FoodNet tracking program. Last year, surveillance for cyclospora, among other things, was reduced.

The former director of the CDC’s Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases disputes criticism that the cuts have affected the ongoing investigation.

“That program is not designed for real-time outbreak detection or response, and the Trump administration’s cuts would have little impact on the current situation,” he tells the Washington Post.