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(NewsNation) — Cyclosporiasis infections continue to take over parts of the U.S., with 4,173 cases and 308 hospitalizations now confirmed in 41 states, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
As the infections soar, scientists are working to figure out just how the parasite was able to contaminate the food supply.
Cyclosporiasis is a form of food poisoning people get from the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. It is transmitted through eating food or drinking water that is contaminated with feces. Symptoms typically take a week to show and can include watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, bloating, gas, nausea and fatigue.
So far, scientists do know cyclospora is spread through human feces. It affects the small intestine, and feces from a person that has the parasite carries its oocysts, or eggs. If they contaminate produce — such as from a worker who didn’t wash their hands or through the water used to irrigate produce — then it can sicken people who eat that produce days later.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the water used from farm irrigation can come from two sources: surface water from nearby rivers, lakes or reservoirs, or groundwater. If that water becomes infected with human feces, it can easily pass to people who buy produce at the grocery store.
If there’s a leaky toilet or inadequate hand-washing stations on a farm, people can still get sick from the contaminated water making its way into the water systems.
However, health experts told The New York Times a single sick person from a farm that didn’t wash their hands isn’t likely to have caused such a large outbreak, and it’s more likely that tainted irrigation water led to the parasite’s spread.
There is also no human-to-human transmission involved, or transmission from animal-to-human, with the cyclospora parasite.
Federal investigators are still working to find the cause of the spread.
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