In a July 7th Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report*, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention documented 486 diagnosed cases of Cyclospora infection in Florida and 513 in total during 2022. Cyclosporidia is an emerging foodborne intestinal protozoan pathogen with 4,703 cases reported in 2019 compared to 537 in 2016. During the 2022 outbreak, 91 percent of patients reported their onset of illness from May through August with a peak in early July.
The presumed vehicle of infection was bagged salad with 43 percent of respondents to questionnaires specifying a brand of salad kits containing Romaine lettuce from a single grocery store chain.
The CDC investigated the outbreak applying Cyclospora genotyping. Of the specimens examined, 76 percent conformed to a temporal-genetic cluster.
There is no explanation of why the report on the outbreak was delayed for a number of months.
*Rehme, P. Notes from the Field: Doubling of Cyclosporiasis Cases Partially Attributable to a Salad Kit-Florida 2021-2022 Morb.Mortal.Wkly.Rep. 72:751-752. (2023).