Word: cyclospora
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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ATLANTA: Looks like strawberries are off the hook. Contaminated raspberries from Guatemala appear to have caused this spring's outbreak of cyclospora, the intestinal illnesses that infected some 850 people in the United States and Canada, federal health officials said Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that when investigators traced 21 cases back to their source, they identified raspberries grown in some regions of Guatemala as the culprit. The fruits were contaminated with microscopic parasite that infects the small intestine and causes watery diarrhea. Antibiotics cure the infection, but diarrhea and other symptoms can last weeks...
...microbe that is responsible--Cyclospora cayetanensis--doesn't come from the relatively familiar world of viruses and bacteria. Instead, it hails from the strange realm of protozoa--single-celled organisms that have complex, multistep life cycles and are big enough to be seen under an ordinary microscope. Protozoa are usually found in ponds and moist, humid places like garden soil. There are many different types of protozoa, but this particular strain was not identified until the early 1990s...
Health experts suspect that Cyclospora may have piggybacked a ride into North America in the intestines of world travelers. But that doesn't explain how it managed to spread beyond those initial contacts. Doctors have traced 26 of 61 confirmed cases in Houston to two gatherings at which strawberries were served. "Those who got ill ate strawberries, and those who didn't get sick didn't recall eating any strawberries," says Dr. Kate Hendricks of the Texas department of health. Investigators traced that fruit back to a handful of California farms but so far haven't turned up any tainted...
Fortunately, the immune systems of most healthy adults are strong enough to successfully eliminate Cyclospora infections after several weeks. But doctors can shorten the length of the illness considerably by treating patients with strong antibiotics. So if you have diarrhea that persists for more than a couple of days or that recurs after a few days, see your doctor as soon as possible. And don't forget to wash those strawberries...
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