By Ethan Covey
A steep rise in cases of cyclosporiasis, a gastrointestinal infection caused by the protozoan parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, found in Florida during 2021 and 2022 may have been caused by contaminated Caesar salad kits, according to a recent report.
Cyclosporiasis cases in the United States have been increasing steadily in recent years, rising from 537 in 2016 to 4,703 during 2019 (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72[27]:751-752).
In Florida, reported cases doubled from 2021 to 2022. Of the 513 cases identified during 2022, 95% were laboratory-confirmed and 5% were probable cases. The vast majority (91%) of cases identified during 2022 featured illness onset during May 1 through Aug. 31.
Patients with illness onset during that period were asked to complete the CDC Cyclosporiasis National Hypothesis Generating Questionnaire (CNHGQ), and 61% of the respondents reported exposure to a commercially produced package of prewashed salad greens.
Forty-three percent of this group reported eating a specific brand of Caesar salad kit that contained only romaine lettuce and was sold by a single grocery store chain. Another 76 people reported exposure to Caesar salad kits, but were unable to recall the brand or had purchased them from a different grocery store.
“The combination of the completed CNHGQ and genetic data strengthens evidence for identifying cases potentially linked to the same source of infection and can guide future investigations,” the authors wrote.
