The bagged salad Cyclospora outbreak now includes 641 people in 11 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since the agency’s last update, issued July 9, the outbreak has expanded to three more states and 132 new cases have been reported.
“Most of the newly reported cases occurred during the first couple of weeks in June,” said Fred Pritzker, founder of the law firm Pritzker Hageman which is representing multiple clients in this outbreak and filed a lawsuit earlier this month.
During interviews with public health officials, people sickened in this outbreak reported the onset of symptoms on dates ranging from May 11, 2020 to July 5, 2020 with the bulk of them occurring in the first half of June. Pritzker said the newly reported cases fit that pattern. The lag in reporting may be related to testing labs being overwhelmed with COVID-19 tests.
Since the end of June, several brands of salad have been recalled in association with this outbreak. All of them contain iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots and red cabbage and all of them were made by Fresh Express at its facility in Streamwood, IL, a location linked to a previous Cyclospora outbreak.
The salads were sold under the brand name Fresh Express and store brand names at ALDI (Little Salad Bar), Giant Eagle, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco (Signature Farms), ShopRite (Wholesome Pantry), and Walmart (Marketside).
For detailed information about each of the products recalled, consumers can check the recalls posted on the FDA website.
Fresh Express Cyclospora Outbreaks
When it comes to Cylcospora salad outbreaks, Fresh Express is a repeat offender, said Food Safety Attorney Raymond Konz. In a 2018 outbreak, more than 500 people developed Cyclospora infections after they ate Fresh Express salad sold at McDonald’s. Two years later, more than 600 people are sick from salad produced at the same plant.
Symptoms of a Cyclospora infection include explosive or watery diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, muscle aches, abdominal cramps, vomiting, fever and other flu-like symptoms. These symptoms can last for weeks or months if untreated coming in bouts, appearing to resolve and then resuming.
The people sickened in the current outbreak range in age from 10 to 92 years old. Thirty-seven of them got so sick they needed to be hospitalized. The number of cases reported fr0m the 11 states now included in the outbreak are: Georgia (1), Illinois (198), Iowa (195), Kansas (5), Minnesota (73), Missouri (57) Nebraska (55), North Dakota (6), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota (13) and Wisconsin (36). The person from Georgia purchased and ate a bagged salad product while traveling in Missouri, according to the CDC. If you developed symptoms of a Cyclospora infection after eating a recalled bagged salad, contact a doctor. A stool sample test can determine if you have an infection.
Pritzker Hageman Cyclospora lawyers are an experienced team with a successful track record. We have represented clients in every major Cyclospora outbreak in the U.S. including this one. If you got sick from contaminated salad, we want to help. For a free consultation, please call 1-888-377-8900, send a text 612-261-0856, or complete the form below. There is no obligation and we don’t get paid unless we win.