PORT CHARLOTTE — The amount of cyclosporiasis cases in Charlotte County have reached six as of Friday.
The Food & Drug Administration announced the outbreak has ended on the same day.
According to the FDA, the outbreak was associated with contaminated iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico. It started in May, and there have been 19,595 cases across the nation as of Sept. 8.
The Florida Department of Health documents six cases in Charlotte County residents as of Sept. 5. The Bureau of Epidemiology receives information from health providers and reports it through its disease surveillance system Merlin.
Cases are reported under a resident’s home location regardless of where the disease was contracted. The age groups of people affected vary between 40-44 and 75-79.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines cyclosporiasis as a gastrointestinal illness caused by the cyclospora parasite. Contaminated consumables with human feces containing the parasite causes the outbreak.
Symptoms of cyclosporiasis include:
Watery diarrheaFatigueNauseaDehydration
Although the FDA declared the outbreak has ended, it will continue to investigation Taylor Farms lettuce.
For more information, visit: cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis.