New cases of Cyclospora illness are being reported down again in Florida with some counties reporting new cases but on a lesser number level.
Thursday’s state Health Department release listed just 43 new cases statewide, down from 66 new cases as of Aug. 8, 87 as of Aug. 1 and 97 new cases as of July 25.
The new cases bring the total number of Cyclospora cases in Florida from May 1 to Aug. 15 to 450, up from 407 cases last week, 342 cases two weeks ago, and 255 three weeks ago.
In Southwest Florida, Lee County reported the most new cases last week with six. Collier and Highlands counties had no new cases, Sarasota County added five, Charlotte added two and Hardee County joined the list with it's first two cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said illnesses linked to this outbreak began on June 14.
Epidemiologic and traceback data showed that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico (a Taylor Farms central Mexico-based processor) was contaminated with Cyclospora and made people sick. The best-by dates for these recalled products have passed and they should no longer be available in stores or restaurants.
There have been at least 398 hospitalizations reported overall. Two deaths have been reported in Michigan. Of note, the total number of cases reported includes sick people who traveled to one of the 17 states but reside in different states.
The outbreak includes people who reported exposure to processed iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico served or purchased at various locations, including people who previously reported eating at Taco Bell. Most of these illnesses began before the Taylor Farms de Mexico iceberg lettuce recall on July 17. The total case count associated with this multistate outbreak is now 9,481 illnesses reported from 17 states. Since an Aug. 5 update, 2 additional states have been added: Maine and Massachusetts.
The true number of sick people in this multistate outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Cyclospora. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported because it can take as long as 6 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of a Cyclospora outbreak. States in this outbreak may show different illness counts on their websites, as they may also include probable illnesses or update their websites at different frequencies. CDC and FDA are only reporting laboratory confirmed cases.
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