FDA investigates produce items linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak

Investing.com -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting traceback investigations on several produce items as officials work to identify the source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak, the agency said Tuesday.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection that people can contract by eating food, usually raw fruits and vegetables, or drinking water contaminated with feces, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC is aware of 5,100 additional reports of cyclospora that require confirmation, a CDC official said. The agency has issued a health alert to physicians to urge testing for cyclosporiasis.

The CDC plans to increase the frequency of updates on cyclosporiasis cases from monthly to weekly, an official said.

An FDA official said the agency is aware of the signal Michigan has identified implicating lettuce in the outbreak.

The cyclosporiasis outbreak has been epidemiologically linked to four states: Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, a CDC official said.

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