Cyclosporiasis: A Foodborne Infection

Cyclosporiasis is a foodborne infection/disease that can cause symptoms very similar to the stomach flu. This lesson covers the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this disease.

Foodborne Illness Outbreak in the U.S.

In 2013, there was an outbreak of a foodborne illness in which hundreds of people living in Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska become very ill. These people had symptoms that included diarrhea, nausea, bloating, vomiting, fever, and stomach pains and aches. After studying this foodborne illness outbreak, it was determined that some of these people suffered from cyclosporiasis after eating contaminated lettuce from Mexico.

What is Cyclosporiasis?

Cyclosporiasis is a infectious, foodborne illness that is caused by the microorganism Cyclospora cayetanensis, which is a single-celled parasite found in feces. Cyclosporiasis occurs when a person consumes food or water that has been contaminated by feces that contains this parasite. Fresh produce from tropical climates (such as the lettuce from Mexico in the 2013 outbreak) are the foods most likely to cause cyclosporiasis.

Cyclosporiasis causes symptoms like nausea and vomiting.

Diagnosis

A stool sample is required to officially diagnose someone with cyclosporiasis. Once a person provides a stool sample, the stool will be examined under a microscope to see if it contains the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. During the testing of these stool samples, the stool is usually tested for several different types of microorganisms that may be causing the sickness.

Diagnosing cyclosporiasis involves examining a stool sample under a microscope.

Treatment

Treatment for cyclosporiasis most often includes the administration of antibiotics. Usually, two antibiotics are combined to treat this disease: trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. This combination of antibiotics is commonly called Bactrim or Septra. A person is usually required to take these antibiotics two times a day for seven to ten days.

It should be noted that cyclosporiasis will often go away on its own without the use of antibiotics.

Prevention

The best way to prevent cyclosporiasis is to follow basic food safety procedures:

Wash hands before eating or handling food
Wash produce thoroughly before eating
Peel fresh produce before eating
Drink bottled water when traveling in tropical countries
Avoid foods from street vendors
When cooking food, make sure it is cooked thoroughly

Proper handwashing helps prevent cyclosporiasis.

Lesson Summary

Cyclosporiasis is a infectious, foodborne illness that is caused by the microorganism Cyclospora cayetanensis, which is found in feces. Cyclosporiasis occurs when a person consumes food or water that has been contaminated by feces that contains Cyclospora cayetanensis. Fresh produce from tropical climates are the foods most likely to cause this foodborne illness.

Cyclosporiasis is diagnosed by examining a stool sample under a microscope to see if the stool contains the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. Treatment for this disease usually includes taking an antibiotic that contains two different antibiotics in one: trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (commonly known as Bactrim or Septra).

Cyclosporiasis can be prevented by following good food safety techniques which include washing hands before eating or handling food, washing all fresh produce thoroughly, drinking bottled water when traveling in tropical foreign countries, and cooking food thoroughly.

Case Study: Vacation Food Poisoning

Jennifer is a 30-year-old who just recently went on a week-long vacation exploring the Caribbean. During her trip, Jennifer tried to experience the local culture by eating lots of locally prepared foods, including many different types of fresh fruits and vegetables.

A couple days after returning home from her trip, Jennifer started feeling very sick to her stomach. She developed explosive diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and became very tired and lethargic. Jennifer decided to go see her doctor to see if anything serious was wrong.

Jennifer's doctor ran her through several tests, one of which was a stool sample. After reviewing the results of all her tests, the doctor informed Jennifer that she had an infectious disease called cyclosporiasis that she most likely got during her recent tropical vacation.

Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite that causes cyclosporiasis.

Symptoms

Being an intestinal disease, most of cyclosporiasis' symptoms relate to the gastrointestinal tract and include:

Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea
Stomach pains and cramps
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Fatigue
Bloating
Fever and aches/pains

These symptoms can last from just a few days to over a month. Additionally, these symptoms may go away for a short period of time and then return.

Symptoms include nausea, cramps, and fatigue.

Causes

The microorganism C. cayetanensis can enter the body if a person consumes food or water contaminated by feces that contain this parasite. It's most often found in tropical climates, and most commonly contaminates fresh produce from tropical countries. Therefore, Jennifer most likely ate a fruit or vegetable that was contaminated by this microorganism during her travels through the Caribbean.

Outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have occurred in the U.S. from people consuming contaminated produce that was imported from tropical countries. For example, an outbreak occurred in 2013 in Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska from contaminated lettuce from Mexico.

Contaminated produce like lettuce can spread cyclosporiasis.

Incubation Period

The incubation period of cyclosporiasis is about one week. This means that it will take about one week for the C. cayetanensis parasite to cause the various symptoms after a person is infected. Jennifer might have eaten contaminated food on one of the first days of her vacation, but didn't start feeling sick until a week later, after she was back home.

Lesson Summary

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal disease caused by the microorganism Cyclospora cayetanensis, which is a single-celled parasite found in feces. Symptoms of this disease include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, stomach cramps, fever, loss of appetite, fever, and fatigue.

People contract this disease by consuming food or water contaminated by feces that contains the C. cayetanensis parasite. Often the source is fresh produce from tropical countries. The incubation period is about a week, so once a person is infected, it usually takes about seven days for them to start feeling sick or noticing any symptoms.