LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Thursday that 92 cyclosporasis cases the CDC says is linked to the national outbreak tied to iceburg lettuce.
Nebraska DHHS said an additional 126 cases have been confirmed in the state, and that 192 of the 218 total confirmed cases in Nebraska were acquired in the U.S.
On Wednesday, the CDC reported that Nebraska and Iowa cases had been linked to the outbreak associated with Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce.
Nebraska officials said that the general public risk of contracting cyclosporasis was low as recalled products had been removed from store shelves.
Dr. Mark Rupp with Nebraska Medicine agrees. He told First Alert 6 on Thursday that he believes we’re on the tail end of the cyclospora outbreak.
“So my guess is that we’re probably not seeing a lot of new acquisition of cyclospora at this point and we’ll start to see cases trickle downward,” he said.
The CDC said Thursday that the recalled lettuce was now off the market — and past its expiration date.
Nevertheless, health officials advised Nebraskans to “remain vigilant and follow safe food handling practices.”
Cases tied to this outbreak were first reported in June. As of Wednesday, the CDC was reporting 6,358 illnesses in 15 states were connected to the lettuce, which prompted Taco Bell to voluntarily remove all affected lettuce from its chain locations out of an abundance of caution even as federal health officials waivered on confirming the source.
Douglas County Health Department continues to track local cyclospora cases. DCHD’s last update earlier this week reported 71 cases, but no indication of how many of those were tied to the national outbreak.
Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department recorded 39 cases in July — 33 of them acquired in the U.S. — with eight more cases confirmed so far in August.
Cyclosporiasis symptoms can vary, according to the CDC. Common symptoms include watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, cramping, bloating, increased gas, nausea, and fatigue. Other symptoms that are less common include vomiting, headache and body aches, low-grade fever, and other flu-like symptoms. The incubation period for cyclosporiasis ranges from two days to two weeks.
Multiple illness warnings at once
Nebraskans are also on alert for salmonella after give cases were recently tied to a national outbreak associated with jalapeno peppers.
Coupled with advisories about lettuce due to risk of cyclospora, many Nebraskans are taking care with what they eat.
“It’s organic food, you know? We should have no problem with bacteria, viruses, anything like that,” Kaden Clauff told First Alert 6 on Thursday.
Others were surprised to learn of national outbreak cases reported here.
James Cano and Aubrey Lance are visiting from California.
“We’ve only been here for about two days, so we haven’t really heard about it here yet, but yeah,” Cano said.
“Yeah, but I had a salad yesterday, so pretty crazy to learn that it’s happening here,” Lance said.
First Alert 6 talked with some people who have changed their eating and shopping habits in light of the cyclospora and salmonella outbreaks.
“Maybe instead of salads for lunch, I’ve had a slice of fish instead, you know?” Mary Celer said. “Unfortunately, it’s something we’ve got to work around to deal with. Hopefully we’ll be short-lived.”
Others are a bit more apprehensive.
“There’s a lot of things I don’t eat. I don’t even… I’m kind of scared to go to the store and just get even apples anymore,” Clauff said.
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