Cyclosporiasis outbreak has Maryland farmer warning customers to "wash all your produce"
An outbreak of cyclosporiasis has infected thousands of people nationwide, including at least 30 people in Maryland.
The cyclopsora parasite causes major gastrointestinal issues — bloating, cramping and watery diarrhea — that can last days or even weeks.
While the cause of the current outbreak is under investigation, health experts say cyclosporiasis can be spread through ingesting irrigation water contaminated with feces, and that water often finds its way to produce.
"Wash all your produce"
People in Towson were trying to get their last minute produce before the storm kicked in Thursday, and farmer Darryl Pearce had a message for them.
"You should wash all your produce, it should be common practice," said Pearce, owner of Lohr's Orchards in Churchville.
He said this is the case always, but especially now.
"It's common sense, it's grown in the field. The field is dirt, you have birds and everything around," Pearce said.
CDC investigating cyclosporiasis outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, "Investigations to identify potential clusters and potential sources of illness are ongoing," but the cause of the current infections remains unknown.
Dr. Jonathan Thierman, an ER Physician at LifeBridge Health, said cyclosporiasis, in particular, is hard to track.
"There's this significant delay after you've eaten the parasite to the symptoms, and so it's usually a week, like I was saying, and so it's very difficult to actually track the source of the bug," said Dr. Thierman.
"I'm wondering where it's coming from that it just started to show up, because produce has been around forever, so what has brought this on?" Pearce said.
Thankfully, so far, he said it hasn't impacted business. And while he and his team wash all their produce before selling it, he urges customers to wash it again before eating it.
"When we bring it in from the field, we do wash it. Actually, I should say rinse it. Because when you get it home, you still need to wash your produce. It's grown in the field and it's dirty in the field," said Pearce.
