This nasty bug can hide in the healthiest of foods

It doesn’t seem fair.

You arrive at McDonald’s and manage to order something healthy… and you wind up running for the nearest bathroom!

Over 160 people have already been stricken with Cyclosporiasis after opting for greens instead of a Big Mac or nuggets at McDonald’s restaurants across 10 states.

And that was just since last week.

Of course, the fast-food chain quickly pulled the particular lettuce blend involved, but since it can take up to two full weeks for symptoms to hit, there may be many more people who will end up regretting that seemingly healthy decision.

But that fast-food salad wasn’t the only place this bug was hiding. Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of people came down with Cyclosporiasis after they munched on carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower from a tray put out by Del Monte.

The only good news here is that there are some simple steps you can take to prevent this “poop” parasite from wreaking havoc on your body.

And if you have any type of condition (or are taking a biologic or other drug) that lowers your immune function, taking precautions against Cyclospora isn’t an option… but a requirement.

A once-exotic microbe

Around this time last year, I told you about Cyclospora outbreaks going on all over the country, with the CDC reporting that cases had increased 130 percent in the U.S. alone.

And the crazy thing about this particular microscopic parasite is that its arrival in the U.S. was relatively recent.

Back in the 1990s, it seemed to suddenly show up – at the time, it was called an “exotic microbe.” Now, it’s about as exotic as a banana.

When it made its grand entrance, the FDA was so far behind the curve that it didn’t even have a test available to look for the bug in food samples. State health departments and the CDC were in a tizzy about what to do.

So, what’s going on? Have veggies become too risky to eat?

The answer is… sometimes.

If that sounds a bit vague to you, that’s the very problem health officials are having with Cyclospora. It seems to appear randomly.

The only thing we seem to know is that this microbe rears its ugly head most often during the summer months… and that foods are probably being contaminated by water polluted with feces.

Yuck!

Suddenly, people are getting sick from raspberries, carrots, snow peas… or salads from McDonald’s.

And since you can’t tell by just looking at something if it’s safe to eat or not, you’re going to have to take other preventive measures.

So, here are the three steps that experts say can help keep you safe from a devastating bout with this bug:

#1: Keep your kitchen prep areas clean. Knives, cutting boards, and utensils can all become invisibly contaminated, allowing the microbe to thrive in the areas where you prepare food and hitch a ride into your belly from anything put down on that surface.

#2: When buying fruits and veggies to eat raw, stick with ones grown in the U.S. or Canada. Cyclospora is more common in foods coming from countries such as Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. And since you have no idea where restaurant salad fixings are coming from, perhaps it’s time to skip the salad bar – at least during the summer, when outbreaks appear to be more frequent.

#3: While washing fruits and produce isn’t a guarantee that it will remove the microbe, thoroughly washing all such foods is one of the best measures you can take to prevent a food-borne illness – as is washing your hands (especially after you poop)!

Some of the symptoms of Cyclosporiasis include ongoing watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and fatigue. And as I mentioned, it can take a week or more for symptoms to appear after eating (or drinking) something that’s been contaminated.

If you think you’ve been hit with Cyclosporiasis, you may have to specifically ask for a test, one that’s not routinely done. And the sooner you find out the better, as getting started on an antibiotic ASAP is what will help to nip this bug in the bud!

“Salads from McDonald’s have now sickened 163 people in 10 states, health officials say” Lindsey Bever, July 20, 2018, The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com