More than 100 people in Massachusetts are part of a Cyclospora outbreak that health officials believe is linked to contaminated produce. The state health department is working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to determine the specific cause of the outbreak which is the largest the state has ever experienced, a health official told Boston25News. Last year, a total of 33 cases were reported in that state for the entire year.
Symptoms of a Cyclospora infection can be similar to the flu including abdominal cramps, nausea, headache, fatigue and weight loss. But the hallmark of these infections is profuse diarrhea that is often explosive. And, left untreated, it can last for months coming and going in waves.
Food Poisoning Attorneys at Pritzker Hageman, which has represented more clients in recent large-scale Cyclospora outbreaks than any other attorney in the U.S., say one question they are asked with increasing frequency is: Can I sue for Cyclospora?
The answer, he says, is yes. If you have test results that show you have a Cyclospora infection and information that links your illness to tainted produce, you can file a lawsuit.
Because it is native to sub-tropical climates, Cyclospora is a parasite frequently associated with travel outside the U.S. But increasingly Cyclospora outbreaks are being linked to imported produce during the summer months. Fruits and vegetables get contaminated when they make contact with human or animal feces containing the parasitic eggs. Then, when these tainted foods are eaten, an infection, called cyclosporiasis, develops within two to ten days.
Massachusetts residents have been part of at least three previous multi-state Cyclospora outbreaks. In 2013, an outbreak linked to fresh produce sickened three people. And outbreaks with an unknown source sickened 12 in 2015 and 14 people in 2017.
Our Cyclospora team just filed the first lawsuit in connection with the Cooper’s Hawk Cyclospora outbreak in Jacksonville, FL. and represented the majority of the people sickened in the 2018 outbreaks linked to McDonald’s salad and Del Monte veggie trays. If you have been sickened by contaminated produce and would like a free legal consultation, call 1 (888) 377-8900 (toll-free), send a text to 612-261-0856 or complete the form below and put our experienced Cyclospora Team to work for you.
A CDC colorized photomicrograph of a stool sample that contains four Cyclospora oocysts.