FDA: Cyclospora Outbreaks Linked To Mexican Cilantro
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Texas Department of State Health Services is among the state and federal agencies that have identified Mexican cilantro as the cause of a cyclospora outbreak.
Officials with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say the fresh cilantro is from Mexico and can be linked to other cyclospora cases from years back.
Human feces and toilet paper were found in the area where the cilantro is grown in Puebla, Mexico. Now the FDA is requiring that cilantro from the state be detained every year from April 1 through August 31. The ban means no cilantro will be allowed from Puebla without inspections and certifications. Any companies importing cilantro from other parts of Mexico will have to provide documentation proving their product wasn't grown in Puebla.
Officials with the FDA say they have received reports from numerous major restaurant companies saying they don't expect to be affected by the cilantro ban, because they buy the herb from California.
More than half of the 300+ U.S. cases of cyclosporiasis reported in 2014 were in Texas. And more than 50-percent of the people who became ill reported having eaten fresh cilantro. Officials say seven people in the state were hospitalized, but no deaths were reported.
Just last month the Texas Department of State Health Services was reporting 64 cyclosporiasis cases so far this year. As of today, that number has now increased to 205 cases.
Cyclospora is an intestinal illness caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. Cyclospora symptoms include diarrhea, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, nausea and fatigue. To prevent getting the infection, people are being asked to thoroughly wash produc
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