Buchanan County reports 17 confirmed cyclosporiasis cases amid nationwide surge

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- This summer, more than 30 states have reported cases of cyclosporiasis, and Missouri is part of the statistic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 4,173 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis and is aware of more than 7,400 additional cases that are not yet laboratory confirmed and require further investigation and analysis.

Even with the country seeing this high number of cases, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, said the outbreak is under control.

"We have extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics and we've identified the source of the outbreak," he said.

Missouri has 216 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

In Buchanan County, there have been 17 confirmed cases.

Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic illness linked to contaminated fresh produce that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and in some cases dehydration.

Symptoms can appear within two days to two weeks.

"Typically within that first week after eating something that had a parasite on it. Some people get fever with it," said Kristi Billings, St. Joseph Health Department interim clinic supervisor. "The diarrhea is very explosive; it's excessive. It's not just a little bit; maybe your stomach didn't have what it agrees with. It's usually noticeable."

Washing produce can help reduce the risk of infection, but it may not remove all of the parasite.

"If you do cantaloupe or watermelon with harder surfaces, you could use a scrub brush," Billings said. "Any of the surfaces that are soft or bruised, you want to go ahead and cut those pieces out."

The parasite can be hard to detect due to long incubation periods.

"Testing has to be ran on a specific test. It's not something that's tested generically, and it's a stool sample. You may have two or three stool samples that the count is very low, and it may not show up, whereas a week later stool samples are a little more infected, and your doctor tests specifically for it," Billings said.

If symptoms persist for more than 48 hours, Billings said to seek medical attention immediately.