Cyclospora Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Cyclospora Blog

2005-07-27

Details are emerging in the case of the contaminated basil that sickened more than 200 diners earlier this month at Manoir Rouville-Campbell in Mont Saint-Hilliare.

Canadian food inspection agents say the basil came from Mexico and not from the Dominican Republic, as was originally reported by several media outlets.

The agency followed the trail of the basil from the diners' plates, to the importer, to the grower, confirming Mexico was the origin.

On July 9th, some 250 customers at Manoir Rouville-Campbel ate basil contaimated with the Cyclospora parasite, which causes symptoms that resemble an extreme case of gastroenteritis.

It was the third case this year in Canada of basil contaminated with Cyclospora.

The two earlier cases were in Ontario in April.

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July 9, 2005
Jjkeller.com

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is, according to this story, initiating an investigation to determine the source of several clusters of a gastrointestinal illness known as cyclosporiasis that is associated with fresh basil that was served in Florida during mid-March through mid-April.

The Florida Department of Health was cited as asking FDA on June 2, 2005, to begin a traceback after results of an epidemiological investigation implicated fresh basil as the source of illness in Florida. The Florida Department of Health has 293 laboratory-confirmed cases in 32 Florida counties during March and April of this year. The outbreak includes several clusters and a large number of sporadic cases.

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When diners become ill and blame something they ate, state experts start sleuthing. They interview the victims, conduct food lineups and try to narrow down the suspects.

By Scott Joseph
Sentinel Restaurant Critic
July 20, 2005

Sometimes people think it's just a touch of the flu, a 24-hour bug. Upset stomach, cramps and diarrhea might be some of the discomforts they experience. But on occasion, these are actually indicators of a food-borne illness, and, for epidemiologists such as Dean Bodager, they aren't symptoms, they're clues.

Whenever there is an outbreak of food-borne illnesses, it falls to Bodager and other members of the Florida Department of Health to track down the source. Sometimes it's simple. Most outbreaks occur at the point of preparation -- a restaurant employee who didn't wash his or her hands properly, food that wasn't kept at the correct temperature to prevent bacteria growth, or some sort of cross-contamination.

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By Thomas Caywood
Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Boston public health officials are probing an intestinal parasite outbreak at a swanky Back Bay private club.

A handful of people attending a dinner lecture at the exclusive Chilton Club on Commonwealth Avenue in April were infected with cyclospora, a nasty bug that causes severe diarrhea, cramping and vomiting. Cyclospora is spread when people eat food or drink water that has come in contact with infected feces.

The Boston Public Health Commission found out about the outbreak in May and has been tracking down all the club members and guests who attended the dinner lecture to determine exactly how many got sick, spokesman Tom Lyons said.

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MEDIA ADVISORY

SEATTLE (July 15, 2005) -- Connecticut health officials issued a warning early this month after several cases of Cyclospora infection surfaced in New Haven County. At least eight people tested positive for Cyclospora, a parasite. Cyclosporiasis, the illness caused by ingestion of Cyclospora, causes severe diarrhea, bloating, stomach cramps, aches, and low-grade fever. The parasite often is found in contaminated produce.

Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm nationally recognized for its successful representation of victims of foodborne illness, sponsors a blog about Cyclospora and Cyclosporiasis (http://www.CyclosporaBlog.com). The site provides news about outbreaks and information on Cyclospora, as well as a list of resources for victims of Cyclospora infection.

"This site should prove to be very useful for people suffering from Cyclospora infections," said William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. "There is much to learn about this parasite, which is relatively unknown by the public."

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(Bridgeport-AP, July 15, 2005 6:15 AM) _ State health officials are trying to locate the source of a food-borne illness that has afflicted more than a dozen people with dangerous diarrhea.

The focus is on cyclosporiasis.

The state Department of Public Health says the outbreak started in June and there were 13 recorded cases as of this week, all in New Haven County.

State health officials are still looking for the source of the outbreak. A previous outbreak of cyclosporiasis that sickened hundreds in Florida this spring was traced to a batch of imported basil.

Outbreaks are commonly traced to produce, such as tomatoes and basil, that has been imported from third-world countries.

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From the CDC

What is cyclosporiasis?

Cyclospora cayetanensis (SIGH-clo-SPORE-uh KYE-uh-tuh-NEN-sis) is a parasite composed of one cell, too small to be seen without a microscope. The first known human cases of illness caused by Cyclospora infection (that is, cyclosporiasis) were reported in 1979. Cases began being reported more often in the mid-1980s. In the last several years, outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been reported in the United States and Canada.

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7/01/2005
High number of cases cited of parasite that causes persistent diarrhea
EDWARD J. CROWDER, ecrowder@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post

Health officials are on the lookout for a nasty food-borne bug that causes persistent diarrhea after eight cases turned up over the last week in New Haven County.

The state Department of Public Health is asking doctors to be on the lookout for symptoms of the parasitic infection, known as cyclosporiasis.

All of the cases were identified since June 22, state officials said. Normally, the whole state gets just four cases in a year.

"We assume there are others and we're looking for them," said Dr. Matthew L. Cartter, coordinator of the department's Epidemiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases Program.

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William D. Marler (www.williammarler.com), an attorney at Marler Clark LLP PS (http://www.marlerclark.com) has extensive experience representing victims of bacterial and viral food poisonings. Since 1993, Marler Clark has represented victims of most of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, including the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli, 1998 Odwalla E. coli, 1999 Sun Orchard Salmonella, 2002 ConAgra E. coli and Chili's Salmonella outbreaks, the 2003 Chi Chi's Hepatitis A outbreak, and the 2004 Sheetz Salmonella outbreak.
Bill feels that a lawyer should do more than just sue corporations. That is why he speaks frequently on issues of safe food and formed Outbreak, Inc. (http://www.outbreakinc.com), a not-for-profit business dedicated to explaining to companies why it is in their interest to avoid food illness litigation. Bill also has created (http://marlerblog.com) as a way of updating the Web on issues of interest to him.

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By Carole Sugarman

My daughter never met a chicken tender she didn't like. But during a recent family vacation in Florida, 9-year-old Anna was struck with a bad case of salmonellosis -- disease caused by salmonella. And while we'll never know for sure, we strongly suspect it was caused by contaminated, undercooked poultry at one of her daily restaurant chicken meals.

There is more than a little irony in this tale of excruciating stomach pains, bathroom vigils and hospital emergency rooms.

As a food writer for 25 years, I've interviewed numerous victims of food-borne diseases and parents of children who've died from them. I've attended scores of conferences and hearings where food safety issues are debated among government officials, industry and activist groups.

But this was the first time I got to see firsthand how devastating full-blown food-borne illness can be. Believe me, we're not talking about a bad tummy ache.

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