What to know
- Canada has updated its U.S. travel advisory to warn travellers about an ongoing Cyclosporiasis outbreak.
- Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic intestinal illness spread through contaminated food or water, often affecting fresh produce.
- Symptoms include prolonged watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, bloating and vomiting, and can last for weeks if left untreated.
- A Toronto doctor says buying local produce when possible, washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly, practising good hand hygiene and cooking produce if you’re at higher risk can help reduce the chances of infection.
- While the current outbreak is centred in the U.S., the expert says awareness and food safety practices remain important whether you’re travelling or staying in Canada.
A Toronto doctor is sharing tips for travellers to stay healthy, after Canada updated its U.S. travel advisory with a warning about the ongoing Cyclosporiasis outbreak in the country.
Earlier this week, the Canadian government updated the travel advisory to include a warning about Cyclosporiasis, as an outbreak is currently being monitored in the country.
Cyclosporiasis is an intestine illness caused by the Cyclospora parasite, which can be transmitted through the consumption of contaminated food and drinks.
Over the last month, several American states have reported cases of Cyclosporiasis, with 308 people having been hospitalized with the illness.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 4,173 confirmed cases of the illness since May 1, while 7,400 suspected cases are under investigation.
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As the outbreak continues to be monitored, Now Toronto spoke with Susy Hota, the medical director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network (UHN), about how Canadians can prevent getting sick, whether they are travelling to the U.S. or staying home.
What are the symptoms of Cyclosporiasis?
As explained by Hota, the cyclospora are parasites that are invisible to the naked eye, with humans being their only known host. Once these parasites are introduced into humans’ small intestines, they can cause a pronounced gastroenteritis, which is an inflammation.
Symptoms are similar to those of food poisoning or a gut infection, including stomach ache, diarrhea, abdominal bloating and fever, but they might last for much longer.
“People present usually with watery diarrhea, it can be quite explosive. You can have stomach cramps with it, nausea and vomiting,” Hota said.
“It often lasts for a lot longer, so it can go on for weeks and weeks. Sometimes looking like it’s improving, and then getting worse again, and then going back and forth if it’s left untreated.”
Additionally, the parasite can hit harder on children, seniors, or those with compromised immune systems. In those cases, the doctor said treatment can take much longer.
How does contamination happen?
The transmission of Cyclosporiasis happens through fecal contamination, which could be through the soil where crops are grown or water sources used for irrigation.
“That’s often how it gets introduced into our system, and then foods that are grown there, usually fresh vegetables or fruit, can then get contaminated on the surface, and once you get those foods that are contaminated, if it’s not removed from there…then you can get sick,” she said.
According to Hota, the specific origin of what is causing the current outbreak is still unknown, but the highest probability is that it has been caused by a common food that is widely consumed in the country.
However, even outside of the outbreak, the doctor said this illness is more common during spring and summer.
“Our cases are typically either related to contaminated food and outbreaks, or related to travel to an area, a part of the world, where this organism is what we call endemic, so it’s quite common and it can transmit in the population more easily,” she added.
Could the outbreak spread to Canada?
Currently, Hota said the outbreak seems to be contained in the U.S., with very sporadic cases recorded in Canada each year.
However, as contamination can come from common food sources, the doctor said it’s not impossible that an outbreak happens in the country.
“It can change. It just takes that source of contamination that then can be spread through the population,” she said.
Tips to avoid contamination
Whether you are planning to travel south of the board, or avoid contamination at home, Hota is sharing some tips that can help prevent contamination.
Firstly, the doctor said shoppers need to be aware of where their food is coming from, and prioritize buying local fruit and vegetables when possible.
“It’s always nice when you can try to buy things locally because we know that our practices here and what our wastewater management systems are like, it’s not really conducive to a spread of this kind of thing,” she said.
Moreover, Hota advises consumers to thoroughly wash their produce before consuming them, which can help reduce the risk of contamination. However, they should note that washing with water or other produce-cleaning chemicals might not be enough to remove all parasites.
“[The parasite] can last through a lot of these kinds of things. And you can imagine with all the crevices and the shape and the way that a lot of our fruit and vegetables are, you can get pathogens stuck in those little crevices and those holes, so it’s hard to eliminate it from washing alone,” she added.
In addition, consumers should wash their hands after handling produce, as parasites could pass onto their hands and contaminate them once they are consuming the food.
Those who are at higher risk of contamination or who want an extra layer of protection can also resort to cooking their vegetables and fruit before consuming until the outbreak subsides.
“Food safety is actually something that we don’t think a lot about when we travel to more familiar places. We sometimes think about it when we’re traveling far abroad… but it really is something that is important to do anytime you’re eating outside of where you normally do. I think awareness is an important piece,” Hota added.
