The Cooper’s Hawk cyclospora outbreak has sickened 80 to 100 people in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Officials have not yet identified a specific food or beverage that may have caused this outbreak, but there is a current multistate cyclospora outbreak that is linked to basil imported from Mexico.
There are at least 132 people sick in 11 states in that outbreak. And there is a cyclospora outbreak in Minnesota, with at least 35 people sick, that is associated with three restaurants in that state.
Just in the last three months, 580 people in the United States have been sickened with cyclosporiasis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Florida is just one of the 32 states with patients. These illnesses have occurred every summer in this country for the past few years. Those outbreaks have been linked to raspberries, Del Monte vegetable trays, McDonald’s salads, mesclun lettuce, and cilantro.
The Florida Department of Health in Duval County, where Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant is located in Jacksonville, has a page on its website all about cyclospora. This parasite, called Cyclospora cayetanensis, is spread by people eating or drinking something that was contaminated by feces. This infection is not spread person-to-person, because the oocyst needs time to mature after it has been expelled in feces before it becomes infectious.
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Symptoms of cyclosporiasis include explosive and frequent watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, bloating, increased gas, nausea, fatigue and stomach cramps and pain. Some people may suffer vomiting, headache, fever, body aches, and other symptoms that are similar to the flu. This illness can last for months if not treated, and can seemingly resolve and then recur without warning.
If you ate at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant in June 2019 and have been ill with these symptoms, see your doctor. You may be part of this Cooper’s Hawk cyclospora outbreak. Mention this outbreak when you see your healthcare provider, because physicians do not routinely test for this parasite. The infection is treatable with antibiotics, but there is no vaccine for this illness, and people can be infected again.
