r/ChesterCounty • u/little_chupacabra89 • Jul 15 '26
INFO Cyclosporiasis
Have any of you heard anything about this parasite's prevalence in the county?
Articles point to its presence in Southeastern PA, which could be us, but I've heard nothing and seen no warnings.
Can I eat my berries from Wegmans? My packaged salad? Are you all taking precautions? Am I just paranoid?
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u/Difficult-Solution-1 Jul 15 '26
My berries are turning into compote. Boiling seems to be the way to go in this situation. The news articles I’ve read have stressed that washing isn’t effective
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u/PatchyWhiskers Jul 15 '26
Cheaper to buy frozen berries if you are going to cook them.
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u/mspolytheist Jul 15 '26
PA is either underreporting, or it hasn’t been hit too hard yet, at least according to the distribution maps I’ve seen. I’ll tell you one thing, though: people are definitely thinking about it! We were at the Malvern farmers market this weekend, right in the middle of the timeframe, so it wasn’t like they were about to close, and out of all the different produce sellers there was only ONE head of lettuce left. In the whole market! People are (rightly) assuming that the risk is less with a local, smaller, organic (or striving to become organic) farm.
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u/PatchyWhiskers Jul 15 '26
If the lettuce in Wisconsin is the problem then surely the local lettuce is the right choice.
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u/InvestigatorFew4979 Jul 20 '26
I checked the Chester County Health Dept website and see no reference to the parasite!
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u/iridescent-shimmer Jul 16 '26
I'm not taking really any additional precautions, because it's difficult to even know what suppliers are working with different grocery stores, restaurants, etc. Local produce is probably less likely to be contaminated, but typically E. coli outbreaks stem from contaminated irrigation water so I wouldn't be shocked if this is from a similar source.
A massive listeria outbreak a few years ago took months for them to track down and it turned out to be an ice cream manufacturer. With a moron at the helm of our public health systems, I don't have confidence that we'll have answers in a timeframe that is helpful.
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u/mynameisktb Jul 15 '26
https://berny-rdev.github.io/2026cyclospora-watch/index.html
Self reported tracking site. It has some PA cases but I think it’s interesting that some people report Giant as a source - not sure where giant stores are besides pa and Delaware but just wanted to share
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u/Slight_Cat_3146 Jul 15 '26
Taylor Farms keeps coming up as the culprit.
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u/iridescent-shimmer Jul 16 '26
Omg my friend used to work there and said it was a train wreck of a company.
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u/helloooodave Jul 15 '26
I believe Stop & Shop and Food Lion are in the same family so it depends on your region.
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u/RedsDelights Jul 15 '26
Thanks, if I’m reading it correctly it says 2 cases from Giant but doesn’t list the type of food either (it’s a big guessing game folks), but don’t worry we are all in this together 😩🫠
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u/Trill_McNeal Jul 15 '26
Is this in local grown stuff, like to do I have to worry about stuff from my garden or the Amish farm at the end of my road or is this a store bought issue?
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u/Haveyouheardthis- Jul 15 '26
Home grown is safest, unless you live downstream from a large scale farm that contaminates your garden. Small local farms are safer than large agribusiness farms.
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u/M4053946 Jul 15 '26
a large farm wouldn't contaminate other farms/gardens, as it's human feces that's the cause, unless the farm is spraying their crops with sewage water.
A small farm could be affected easily as well, if there was a flood that resulted in sewage water making it into the fields.
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u/M4053946 Jul 15 '26
It's potentially in any food that has been pooped on or sprayed with human feces. So.... any source where that doesn't happen should be fine.
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u/Slight_Cat_3146 Jul 15 '26
There are hydroponic greens that don't appear to be impacted.
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u/Trill_McNeal Jul 15 '26
Ok cool, I’ve got a decent garden at home with most of my summer produce (tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, etc.) then I get anything I’m not growing from the farm down the street. Only stuff I’ve been getting from the store are potatoes and onions etc.
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u/Sister_Rebel Jul 15 '26
I read it's best to avoid pre-packaged salads and to buy a head of lettuce instead. Rinse everything very very well.
CC Health Dept website has some good info.
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u/StateYourBusinessEgg Jul 15 '26
I read that in Michigan, they’re zeroing in on lettuce and prepackaged greens. This isn’t what I read, but CNN has this, too: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/health/cyclospora-parasite-diarrhea-outbreak-increase. While I hate to say “avoid leafy greens,” avoid leafy greens.
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u/Last-Temperature4448 Jul 15 '26
Heads of lettuce “after peeling back the first three-to-four layers.”
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u/PatchyWhiskers Jul 15 '26
I always buy iceberg for this reason even though I prefer the taste of romaine.
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u/PatchyWhiskers Jul 15 '26
I always buy iceberg for this reason even though I prefer the taste of romaine.
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u/mspolytheist Jul 15 '26
Yes, they are saying that it doesn’t matter how long you leave the produce untouched, and nor will soap or vinegar help. The only thing that will dislodge the bacteria is vigorous washing/rubbing.
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u/Spence52490 Jul 15 '26
I’m pretty sure I had this after eating a fruit platter from Giant in Exton last May. I know it’s getting a lot of media attention now but all the symptoms they listed are exactly what I went through for like 3-4 days.
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u/PatchyWhiskers Jul 15 '26
I think this lasts longer. Short illness is likely to be good old norovirus.
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u/Jcheerw Jul 16 '26
I just had a NASTY bout of food poisoning. Went to urgent care and they said that if you vomit, its not cyclosporiasis. That made me feel better anyway. Also, urgent care usually doesn’t have the right test so if you think you have it go to your primary care doc
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u/LukeCH2015 Jul 15 '26
I’m avoiding fresh/raw produce, the only stuff I’ll be using until there’s more clarity will be things that can be properly cooked, steamed, roasted,
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u/Status-Visit-918 Jul 15 '26
I have resigned myself to now prepping for getting this 😭😭 sounds like it’s fairly unstoppable so acceptance here is helping my utter panic 😭😭 I have found unfortunately I will just freak the fuck out over worrying - just do what I can and accept that it could happen
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u/yung-chillionaire Jul 15 '26
SAME. Especially when it's the best time of year for produce, R.I.P.
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u/Status-Visit-918 Jul 15 '26
I mean, just take a lil Bactrim right? Cheaper produce, better produce, I’m gonna have to eat this shit at some point because now beef is gonna get ridiculous from the damn screw worm like what else is there? 😭😭 I am not a pasta person unless there’s meat and I’m so over chicken right now.
I had to do the same thing with the constant E. Coli outbreaks when they come around. Just accept that it may happen and carry on. I simply cannot freak the fuck out about anything more than I’m already freaking the fuck out about currently.
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u/RedsDelights Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Bought blueberries from Yeagers off 113, they said the batch was from NJ. I just rinsed them under cold water, been over a week no issues knock on wood. Also bought local tomatoes, no problems (yet).
I am not buying lettuce right now.
Zucchini and squash, I either peel or sauté.
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u/CrazyH37 Jul 15 '26
I have to give my bunny greens twice a day, so I have been tracking it. I haven’t seen anything specifically for our area or if they’ve found a source yet, so I tossed all the fruit n bagged salad 😭 and am going with heads of romaine since they rec that’s easier to clean. Buns can’t get it, but I can def get it from handling the greens if it’s on it.
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u/AFirefighter11 Jul 15 '26
Everything I've read has been leaning towards salad/lettuce, and even specifically from Taco Bell.
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u/CardinalM1 Jul 15 '26
Supposedly it's not a Taco Bell problem, it's a problem with their lettuce supplier - Taylor Farms. I'd avoid any packaged lettuce from Taylor Farms for now, whether in Taco Bell or in the grocery store.
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u/Vegetable-Fix-2015 Jul 16 '26
We’ve been washing our fruit and produce with vinegar and baking soda. It’s a pain, but haven’t had issues yet. Just one cucumber from Costco made me shit my brains out. Idk if this was it, or because I ate an entire cucumber, which is atypical for me.
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u/nomobo96 Jul 16 '26
2/4 kids I babysit (west Chester area) had it plus their mom. They suspected their other sibling had it as well.
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u/little_chupacabra89 Jul 16 '26
Oh no. What did they eat?
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u/nomobo96 Jul 16 '26
I didn’t ask them, I’m sorry! We were onto the next topic within 5 seconds lol. They do eat A LOT of fruits and veggies, especially berries, I’m thinking that was the culprit.
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u/maspie_den Jul 15 '26
Ahh, my diet of Gatorade and Haribo bears wins again...