Quantcast

Wisconsin reports four Cyclospora cases, Midwest total well over 200

Wisconsin is the latest state to report cases of the parasitic disease in it’s residents. According to a news release Friday, state health officials announced that four cases of gastrointestinal illnesses caused by a microscopic parasite called Cyclospora have been reported among Wisconsin residents.

Four Cyclospora oocysts from fresh stool stained using a modified acid-fast stain. Image/CDC (DPDx)

Four Cyclospora oocysts from fresh stool stained using a modified acid-fast stain.
Image/CDC (DPDx)

These cases are presumed to be part of a multi-state outbreak of the disease affecting more than 200 people, mostly in Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas. The ill Wisconsin residents live in Milwaukee, Brown, and Grant Counties.

LISTEN: Iowa Cyclospora Outbreak: A Few Words With Dr. Patricia Quinlisk

“Because Cyclospora can cause a prolonged illness and the disease is treatable with sulfa drugs, we want people to know that they should contact their doctor if they experience a gastrointestinal illness with watery diarrhea that lasts more than two or three days,” said Dr. Henry Anderson, State Health Officer.

Anderson noted that because this is a relatively rare infection, doctors usually do not test for Cyclospora, which requires special testing procedures.

Health authorities from Nebraska and Iowa say the outbreak is likely linked to fresh vegetables.

Iowa Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) Medical Director and State Epidemiologist,  Dr. Patricia Quinlisk told Dispatch Radio Saturday, based on lengthy and extensive interviews with people that have been affected, they believe the culprit is fresh vegetables.

“Basically we’re finding that people did not have fruits in common, but they did have some vegetables and vegetable products in common. So now we’re focusing on these vegetables”, Quinlisk said.

Wisconsin health officials are collaborating with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local health officials, and health departments in other affected states on this outbreak investigation.

As of Friday, there were some 235 cases reported from the various Midwestern states.

Only five cases of cyclosporiasis were reported among Wisconsin residents during 2008 through 2012.

For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page

Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available

 

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today and hosts the podcast, Outbreak News Interviews on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify Robert is politically Independent and a born again Christian Follow @bactiman63

Displaying 1 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. Cyclospora outbreak tops 250 cases - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] (118), Nebraska (68) and Texas (65). Smaller numbers of cases have been reported from Wisconsin, Illinois and […]

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives