Galveston County health officials confirmed 14 cases of cyclosporiasis on Tuesday, July 28, and are urging League City-area residents to scrub their produce and wash their hands before eating.
Four additional cases remain under investigation, according to the Galveston County Health District. The case count doubled over the weekend of July 26-27, jumping from seven confirmed infections to 14.
No specific food source, restaurant, or supplier has been linked to the local cases, according to health officials.
"We're in what's called a logarithmic growth phase, where the cases start going up like a rocket," Dr. Philip Keiser, the county's local health authority, told The Galveston County Daily News on Monday, July 27. "Over the next week or so, that'll really tell us if we've got a real sustained problem or not."
Keiser said investigators believe the outbreak likely started from a single contaminated source but has since spread through multiple channels.
What is cyclosporiasis?
Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. It spreads through contaminated fresh produce or water, not directly from person to person.
Symptoms typically appear about a week after exposure and include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, loss of appetite, and fatigue, according to the CDC. Without treatment, they can last a month or longer. Infants, the elderly, and people with kidney disease or diabetes face the highest risk.
How to protect yourself
The health district recommends three steps:
- Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating
- Wash hands with soap before preparing or eating food and after using the restroom
- Contact a healthcare provider if symptoms develop
Dr. Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist with Memorial Hermann, offered a practical tip to KPRC: skip the bagged precut lettuce. Buy a whole head instead, discard the outer leaves, and the interior should be safe. She also noted that raspberries and blackberries are harder to wash than grapes or blueberries.
Cooking produce to 158 degrees Fahrenheit kills the parasite, according to Houston Public Media.
The bigger picture
Texas has 123 confirmed cyclospora cases as of Tuesday, July 28, with 90 in the Houston area and 23 hospitalizations statewide, according to KPRC. Galveston County accounts for 13 of those Houston-area cases.
Nationally, the CDC has recorded 6,707 laboratory-confirmed cases since May 1, with 423 hospitalizations and no deaths. The annual cyclosporiasis season runs through August 31.
A separate multistate outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell locations in five states has sickened 1,947 people, but investigators have not connected the Galveston County cases to that cluster.
Keiser indicated the week ahead, around Tuesday, August 4, will be critical in determining whether the local outbreak is stabilizing or worsening.
