Michigan health officials identify ‘potential source’ of parasite outbreak

Jessica Glenza,    -  Stephan: The very thing we should be regularly eating has become dangerous because psychopath Trump has directed his administration serviles to gut the regulatory agencies that have protected Americans for generations. And yet 37% of American voters still support this madness. To obtain more information:  What is cyclosporiasis, the parasitic illness causing ‘explosive’ diarrhea? A microscopic view of the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis oocysts. Photograph: Melanie Moser / CDC / AP Officials say inquiry into cyclosporiasis outbreak continues but early results point to salad greens and lettuce State health officials in Michigan said on Monday they had identified lettuces and salad greens as a “potential source” of the thousands of cases of cyclosporiasis – a parasitic infection that causes “watery diarrhea”, loss of appetite and weight loss. In a statement, the Michigan department of health and human services said the investigation is continuing, but that early results “point to lettuce or salad greens as a potential source for this outbreak”, though officials also cautioned it is too early to rule out other food sources. “No specific type of produce, grower, or supplier has been identified as the source,” the statement reads. The outbreak of more than 2,800 cases comes a year after the Trump administration cut funding to state and local health departments and reduced the remit of a program dedicated to coordinating information on foodborne illness, including of cyclospora. “It’s like putting a puzzle together,” said Barbara Kowalcyk, an associate professor at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute of Public Health, and the director [...]Read the Full Article »