Chicago couple files first Illinois lawsuit over cyclospora outbreak
A Chicago couple has the first Illinois lawsuit linked to the outbreak of cyclospora that sickened thousands of people across the country.
Alonso Zaragoza, a librarian with the Chicago Public Library, and his wfe, Jadhira Sanchez, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against Taylor Fresh Foods and Taylor Farms California, claiming he got sick after he ate at a Taco Bell on July 11, because of contaminated lettuce grown, processed, and distributed by Taylor Farms.
According to the lawsuit, the symptoms were so severe that Zaragoza needed to be treated at the emergency room, and they lingered for several weeks.
Zaragoza and his wife are seeking damages for pain and suffering, missed work, and medical expenses. Sanchez's wife did not get sick, but the lawsuit claims she suffered from lost sleep, altered her own diet to accommodate her husband's need for an almost entirely liquid diet after he got sick, and was forced to take time off work to help care for him.
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea "with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements," according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.
An outbreak that began in July has been linked to recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms. Illnesses linked to the outbreak have now been confirmed in 20 states, federal health officials said Thursday, expanding the scope of the largest outbreak of its kind in the U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration said government scientists have now identified cyclosporiasis cases in three additional states: Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. Other states impacted by the outbreak include Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The tally of people sickened in the outbreak by the parasite cyclospora is now 11,458, the FDA said, up from about 10,900 reported last week. There have been two deaths linked to the outbreak, both reported in Michigan. The two residents had "significant underlying health conditions," the state's Department of Health and Human Services has said.
The FDA, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials have focused their investigation on lettuce grown at a farm in central Mexico operated by Taylor Farms, a major U.S. produce supplier. CBS News discovered that prior to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, the FDA last inspected its potential source, Taylor Farms de Mexico, seven years ago
The FDA said its staffers are continuing to inspect and test produce at the farm, in cooperation with officials from the Mexican government. The U.S. agency said it "remains confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific cyclospora outbreak is off the market."
Earlier this week, the CDC reported that there have been about 17,180 confirmed cyclosporiasis cases in the U.S. this year. There have been 922 hospitalizations, according to the agency. Previously, the worst year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported nationally.
