FDA Announces Plan to Lessen Public Health Burden of Foodborne Cyclosporiasis
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a Cyclospora Prevention, Response, and Research Action Plan that outlines FDA’s strategy for reducing the public health burden of foodborne cyclosporiasis in the U.S. caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis in both domestically grown and imported produce.
Cyclosporiasis is a foodborne intestinal illness caused by the parasite C. cayetanensis. The reported cases of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. has been on the rise in recent years, most likely due in part to better diagnostic testing methods. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been about 6,000 reported domestically-acquired cases of cyclosporiasis over the last 3 years. The number of reported cases typically rises during the spring and summer, from May through August.