The McDonald’s cyclospora outbreak that is linked to that chain’s salads has grown to include 163 sick, according to the FDA. That is an increase of more than 100 patients in the last five days. Those sickened live in 10 states, an increase of three states since July 15, 2018. Three people have been hospitalized. All of these cases are lab-confirmed.
The FDA is working with McDonald’s to try to identify the common ingredient in the salad that is potentially contaminated. Patients report eating a variety of McDonald’s salads before they got sick.
As of July 13, 2018, McDonald’s has stopped selling salads at restaurants in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri. The company is switching to another salad supplier.
Iowa and Illinois have the most cases, with 21 to 70 sick in each state. Minnesota, South Dakota, and Ohio are next, with 11 to 20 people sick in those states. The new states added to this outbreak case count are Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida.
The law firm of Pritzker Hageman has filed the first Iowa lawsuit in this outbreak, on behalf of a man sickened after he ate food purchased from the McDonald’s store in Osceola, Iowa several times in late June, 2018. The Iowa Department of Health determined that their client contacted this infection from eating at the fast food chain and is part of this McDonald’s cyclospora outbreak. They also filed a lawsuit in Illinois on behalf of a woman who was sickened after eating at McDonald’s.
The symptoms of a cyclospora infection include explosive and watery diarrhea that can recur, loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, and increased gas. People usually get sick about a week after ingesting the parasite. If you ate at a McDonald’s restaurant since mid-May 2018 and have been sick with these symptoms, you may be part of this McDonald’s cyclospora outbreak. See your doctor.
