Health and Fitness : Cyclospora Update: Source Identified

IDPH, CDC, Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the State Hygienic Laboratory and local public health agencies are investigating an outbreak caused by Cyclospora.

The epidemiologic investigation completed by local public health departments in Iowa and IDPH has implicated a prepackaged salad mix as the source of the outbreak. The food trace back investigation performed by DIA determined that at least 80 percent of these cases had been exposed to the same prepackaged salad mix.

-The salad mix contained iceberg and romaine lettuce, carrots and red cabbage.
-This salad mix is no longer in Iowa’s food supply chain.
-Onset dates of the illness suggest the ill people had eaten the contaminated food in mid-June. This is a very good indication the food which was the source of the outbreak has already been consumed or discarded, since fresh vegetables have a limited shelf life.
-At no time was an Iowa-grown fruit or vegetable suspected to be the cause of the outbreak.

To read the full report, visit Iowa Cyclospora Outbreak 2013 Outbreak Update 7.31.13

See previous story: http://www.vintoniowa.org/articles/Health+and+Fitness/article1010163.html

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