Surveillance for Laboratory-Confirmed Sporadic Cases of Cyclosporiasis - United States, 1997-2008. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 60, No. 2, April 8, 2011

摘要

Cyclosporiasis is an enteric disease caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, a unicellular, coccidian parasite transmitted by ingestion of infective oocysts (e.g., through contaminated food or water). The most common symptom is watery diarrhea. Although humans are the only known hosts of this Cyclospora species, direct person-to-person transmission is unlikely; the oocysts shed in feces require days to weeks under favorable environmental conditions to become infective. The need for Cyclospora oocysts to survive long enough both to sporulate and subsequently to be ingested by a susceptible person suggests that the oocysts are quite hardy and unlikely to be killed by routine chemical disinfection or sanitizing methods used for food or water. The incubation period averages 1 week (range: 2-14 days). Infection responds to treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, but untreated persons can have prolonged illness, with remitting-relapsing symptoms, for several weeks or months. For 1997-2008, laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis were reported to CDC by jurisdiction health departments via multiple surveillance systems and reporting methods. These included two active surveillance systems (the Cyclospora Sentinel Surveillance Network and the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network), two passive systems (the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System and the Public Health Laboratory Information System), and informal mechanisms.