MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (WRN) — A food safety expert says cyclospora outbreaks can be harder to solve than those involving bacteria like salmonella.
University of Minnesota professor Dr. Craig Hedberg says investigators have fewer laboratory tools for linking cases.
“with Cyclospora, as we’re investigating these outbreaks in real time, we just don’t have the ability to say that this group of five Cyclospora cases are all related and they’re different from this group of 10 Cyclospora cases,” Hedberg said.
Instead, investigators rely heavily on interviews, timing and exposure histories. The cyclosporiasis parasitic outbreak with its trademark symptom of explosive diarrhea has now spread to 45 states.
