There are now 33 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in New Hampshire, according to the latest data from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Seventeen of those cases are people who reported eating lettuce from locations that served recalled Taylor Farms products. All of those cases are linked to exposure to recalled lettuce at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, according to Jake Leon, spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
When asked what classifies an “outbreak” in New Hampshire, and whether these latest cases meet that standard, Leon said, “DHHS defines a cluster of cyclosporiasis as the occurrence of more cases than expected in a specific area or period, specifically when cases are linked through a common source.”
In the previous five years, the state typically identified between two and nine cases of cyclosporiasis a year.
“Based on the increasing number of individuals with cyclosporiasis from their exposure at Cheshire Medical Center,” Leon said, “DHHS is investigating the situation at Cheshire Medical Center as a foodborne cluster investigation and believes this cluster is part of the larger nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak.”
Two people in New Hampshire have been hospitalized with the illness, which causes severe gastrointestinal symptoms.
Last week, the number of cyclosporiasis cases nationally surpassed previous records, and caused alarm among health experts and food safety leaders.
The Trump administration ended the mandatory tracking of cyclospora and five other pathogens at the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, the office within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that monitors foodborne illnesses.
Stores in New Hampshire that carry Taylor Farms products include Walmart, Shaws, 7-Eleven, Target, and Whole Foods.
