CLEVELAND — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is coming to Ohio to investigate the Cyclospora outbreak.
The agency's "disease detectives" will be here for three weeks to assist the Ohio Department of Health, at the state's request.
Members of the CDC will interview people who tested positive for Cyclospora to assess symptoms, locations where they ate, and attempt to trace back to other outbreaks.
The Ohio Department of Health released the following statement on the outbreak and the help the CDC will be providing:
"The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) requested federal assistance for the cyclospora investigation via an Epi-Aid. Epi-Aids are a longstanding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resource that provide valuable assistance to state and local health departments during investigations.
We are pleased to be hosting several Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers who are assisting with investigation efforts. CDC staff will assist with interviews of those who tested positive for Cyclospora and also analyze data to help with outbreak tracing efforts."
Summit County is currently investigating more than 200 cases. The number of cases has tripled in just one week.
RELATED: Summit County investigates 235 cyclospora cases as outbreak grows
Medical Director Dr. Erika Sobolewski said investigators are still working to determine the full scope of the outbreak, but one food has consistently stood out.
"Certainly lettuce. Lettuce has been the issue," Sobolewski said.
Even as contaminated products are removed from store shelves, Sobolewski said new cases are still expected.
"There is an obvious outbreak going on, and until we know that all the sources have been identified, it's going to be at least another two weeks because people have eaten those foods already before they were pulled off the shelves," she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting more than 11,000 cases across 41 states.
RELATED: FDA identifies second cyclospora outbreak as US case count reaches record high
The initial outbreak has been linked to iceberg lettuce, believed to have come from a farm in central Mexico. Now, the Food and Drug Administration has initiated a trace-back effort to identify the source of a second wave of the sickness, characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
At least 72 cases have been tied to the new, unidentified source — just days after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. declared the Cyclospora outbreak was "under control."
Annual peak infections from the Cyclospora parasite traditionally continue through August.
