What you should know about cyclosporiasis

-- Posted by kmyers001 on Thursday, December 1 2005

What is cyclosporiasis?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cyclospora cayetanensis (SIGH-clo-SPORE-uh KYE-uh-tuh-NEN-sis) is a parasite composed of one cell, too small to be seen without a microscope. The first known human cases of illness caused by Cyclospora infection (that is, cyclosporiasis) were reported in 1979. Cases began being reported more often in the mid-1980s. In the last several years, outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been reported in the United States and Canada.

How is Cyclospora spread?

Cyclospora is spread by people ingesting something, for example, water or food that was contaminated with infected stool. For example, exposure to contaminated water among farm workers may have been the original source in raspberry-associated outbreaks in North America. Cyclospora needs time (days or weeks) after being passed in a bowel movement to become infectious. Therefore, it is unlikely that Cyclospora is passed directly from one person to another. It is not known whether or not animals can be infected and pass infection to people.

What are the serious and long-term risks of a Cyclospora infection?

Cyclospora has been associated with a variety of chronic complications such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, reactive arthritis or Reiter’s syndrome, biliary disease, and acalculous cholecystitis. Since Cyclospora infections tend to respond to the appropriate treatment, complications are more likely to occur in individuals who are not treated or not treated promptly. Extraintestinal infection also appears to occur more commonly in individuals with a compromised immune system (per the Bill Marler blog).

Who is at risk for Cyclospora infection?

People of all ages are at risk for infection. In the past, Cyclospora infection was usually found in people who lived or traveled in developing countries. However, nowadays the infection is found worldwide.

What are the symptoms of infection?

Cyclospora infects the small intestine (bowel) and usually causes watery diarrhea, with frequent, sometimes explosive, bowel movements. Other symptoms can include loss of appetite, substantial loss of weight, bloating, increased gas, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, low-grade fever, and fatigue. Some people who are infected with Cyclospora do not have any symptoms.

How soon after infection will symptoms begin?

The time between becoming infected and becoming sick is usually about 1 week.

How long will symptoms last?

If not treated, the illness may last from a few days to a month or longer. Symptoms may seem to go away and then return one or more times (relapse).

What should I do if I think I might be infected?

If you think you might be infected with Cyclospora, see your health care provider.

How is Cyclospora infection diagnosed?

Your health care provider will ask you to submit stool specimens to see if you are infected. Because testing for Cyclospora infection can be difficult, you may be asked to submit several stool specimens over several days.

Identification of this parasite in stool requires special laboratory tests that are not routinely done. Therefore, your health care provider should specifically request testing for Cyclospora. Your health care provider might have your stool checked for other organisms that can cause similar symptoms.

How is infection treated?

The recommended treatment for infection with Cyclospora is a combination of two antibiotics, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, also known as Bactrim*, Septra*, or Cotrim*. People who have diarrhea should rest and drink plenty of fluids.

I am allergic to sulfa drugs; is there another drug I can take?

No alternative drugs have been identified yet for people with Cyclospora infection who are unable to take sulfa drugs. See your health care provider to discuss other possible treatment options.

How is infection prevented?

Avoiding water or food that may be contaminated with stool may help prevent Cyclospora infection. People who have previously been infected with Cyclospora can become infected again.

Why are we reporting this to you on BLV Health Watch?

Two reasons. On reviewing the Nov. 18/2005 weekly report for reported diseases, we noticed that Cyclospora infections reported (and not all States report it) rose dramatically from 2004 to 2005.

The reported cases have so far risen from 199 cases cummulative total in 2004, to a whopping 708 cases reported as of November 12, 2005!

Surely to heavens people aren't intentionally ingesting water or food contaminated with infected stool, are they?

Back in the 1990's it was thought imported raspberries from Guatamala were the cause. Then later, it was thought pet guinea pigs were causing outbreaks. In fact, EINet (the Emerging Infections reporting website) still claims the usual sources of infection are imported lettuce and berries.

I have a different theory, however keep in mind, it is just a theory.

First... let's take a look at the water reports and find out if E. coli and/or similar contaminents are on the rise in streams feeding aquifers. For this exercise, I chose the state I live in, namely Indiana, USA.

In the state of Indiana, the number of threatened waterbodies contaminated with E. coli rose from 174 in the year 2002, up to 214 in the year 2004. Imagine, that's an increase of 40 new waterbodies contaminated with E. coli in just a two year period. That's just E. coli contamination. As far as I know, no specific testing is being done to determine if Cyclospora cayetanensis is showing up in our waters.

But here's a good question. How in the world is so much E. coli getting into our ditches, rivers, lakes and streams?

One possible explanation could be the dramatic increase in CAFOs in our state, since it is common knowledge that E. coli O157:H7 bacteria mostly live in the intestines of cattle but have also been found in the intestines of chickens, deer, sheep, goats, and pigs. E. coli O157:H7 does not make the animals that carry it ill; the animals are merely the reservoir for the bacteria.

When the regulations changed, some protestors say the laws actually "loosened up", for CAFOs (aka confinement and/or concentrated animal feeding operations) in the year 2003 in Indiana, it seemed like the march was on to bring hundreds more into the State.

One particular such operation is currently under construction right on top of one of Indiana's largest Sandhill Crane feeding areas, right on the doorstep of a major wildlife conservation area loaded with wetlands and both large and small foraging forest critters.

It's been estimated that 1,000 lbs. of growing pigs produce 1 cubic foot of manure and urine per day. There will be 2,496 pigs (a minimum of 55 lbs./each) at this new factory, and the manure has been planned for spreading on 500 acres, both on their own property surrounding the factory as well as nearby farming fields.

The planned "sewage spreading" acres are located near ditches and streams feeding into two major aquifers supplying most of Northwestern Indiana with their tap water.

When you do the math and figure out how many tons of sewage will be spread on that small patch of land each year, it's hard to believe the soil will be able to absorb it all, isn't it? How much do you think might leach into our waterways?

But is it really the CAFOs that are leaching E. coli into our waters? Here's where we come to a different problem --- determining where water pollution is actually coming from.

In Japan one scientist has developed what he believes is a fairly accurate method for determining pig manure source pollution in waterbodies. Another group in Norway also believe they are close to developing a model which works fairly accurate as well.

The USA? Well, unfortunately... even though they've been encouraging farmers to use the CAFO livestock method in agriculture for years, even re-writing several laws to open their doors wider to embrace it in several States, sadly enough they still don't have an "accurate" system for detecting where pollutions in their aquifers and waterways are coming from.

In fact, from all the research I've done in the past several weeks researching this article, it appears to me that they've done very little to create an accurate model for assessing non-point source pollution in our rivers, lakes and streams when it comes to the total estimated damage done to air, soil and land from CAFOs thus far.

So, if you can't prove it, then...

Not so fast. Apparently one source of E. coli contamination has in fact been proven in lettuce, radishes, carrots and more. Where is it coming from? You guessed it - manure from CAFOs.

Hey, I'm no scientist -- and I certainly wouldn't know how to find the little bacteria in a lab, but I'm thinking one of our cutting-edge government institutions might want to connect a few dots here, don't you agree?

But now the dilemna... It appears as though Cyclospora cayetanensis is predominantly found in humans, not pigs. However, the pigs to be "produced" at the sow farm operation mentioned above are genetically engineered pigs, and according to the factory owner's website, grown specifically for Hormel foods. When I asked Hormel foods if this particular company did indeed supply pork to them, they responded saying that was "proprietary information" ...in other words, the source of their pork is a confidential trade secret, folks.

I won't go into the long debate over the pros and cons of genetically engineered pigs here.

However, the bottom line on this entire article is this. Surely the USA government and its appointed public health officials don't believe their citizens are deliberately ingesting food and water with contaminated stool?

Sidenote: To be fair, one USA published scientific study made the attempt to determine non-point source pollution in our waters -- then later revised it -- however, from other related scientific studies, it doesn't appear to be very effective (almost useless according to one scientist), but that's an entirely different article.

By the way... "Because of its very low incidence (referring to Cyclospora cayetanensis), the Food Safety Working Group has chosen to drop this developmental objective from the focus area and to focus on higher incidence pathogens."

Okey dokey -- so I guess if they don't think there's a growing problem here, we should all just ignore it? Now, there's food for thought.

---

Author: K. Myers (aka kmyers001)
Click Here To Visit Website

---

Diabetes Rising Faster in the USA than Canada

-- Posted by kmyers001 on Thursday, December 1 2005

During 2002--2003, diabetes was significantly more prevalent among adults aged >50 years in the United States than in Canada.

Approximately 13% of U.S. adults in that age group had been told by a health-care professional that they had diabetes, compared with approximately 10% of that age group in Canada.

Among those aged 50--64 years, 11% of U.S. adults had been told they had diabetes, compared with 8% in Canada.

What's really sad to note is that it's not going down, it's going up!

Ask us what Goji Juice has done for people with adult onset diabetes and share the info. They'll thank you for it!


SOURCE: Powell-Griner E, Blackwell DL, Martinez M. Health profiles of noninstitutionalized senior citizens in the U.S. and Canada: findings from the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health. Presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Philadelphia, PA; March 31--April 2, 2005.

---

Author: K. Myers (aka kmyers001)
Click Here To Visit Website

---

Last European Union Risk Analysis Conference

-- Posted by kmyers001 on Thursday, December 1 2005

Organised by Teagasc, the Irish Agriculutre and Food Development Authority, an international conference in Ireland on food safety and nutrition is the final in a series of six European Union Risk Analysis Information Network (EU-RAIN) conferences held throughout Europe over the last three years.

"In industrialised countries, an estimated 10 to 30 per cent of the population suffer food-borne illnesses every year, usually due to contamination of food with pathogenic microorganisms.

Furthermore, the health of millions is at risk due to being overweight or obese. Both chronic and acute illnesses linked to food consumption result in untold human suffering and place a major burden on the health sector." The TEAGASC Website Reports

The Science of Food - Safety and Nutrition - is the subject of this major international conference to be held at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd December, 2005.

Targeting food producers, processors, scientists, nutritionists, health professionals, environmental health officers, food safety regulators, epidemiologists, health promotion agencies and consumers, the conference will discuss future research needs and future developments to achieve compliance with legislation.

---

Author: K. Myers (aka kmyers001)
Click Here To Visit Website

---

NEW! Add Our News Feed To Your Website (or myYahoo Page) Today! Keep totally up to date with changes to our website, including the latest and hottest news items with a BLV Health News feed! Simply use the following RSS URL feed for importing to your myYahoo page and/or to your website: http://bestliquidvitamins.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Finally The World's Most Powerful Anti-Aging Food Is Here! Hear what others are saying about Goji Juice! Testimonials Part 1 Testimonials Part 2 Delicious! Nutritious! Himalayan Goji Juice It Doesn't Get Any Better! * 19 amino acids, * B-Complex Vitamins, * more Vitamin C than oranges, * Vitamin E (rare in fruit!), * 4 unique polysaccharides, * richest source of carotenoids, * richer than carrots in beta-carotene, * 21 trace minerals including germainium, * more protein than even whole wheat, * known as the happy berry for mood, * and much much much more! BUY NOW Himalayan Goji Juice is 100% juice - more than two pounds of the most potent goji berries in every bottle - no sugar added!

Currently available in 11 countries! Soon available in more than 40 different countries. Click here for full details. If you would like to help us share this amazing product with the world, click here. 90 Day Empty Bottle Money Back Guarantee! The World's Most Powerful Anti-Aging Food Himalayan Goji Juice Helps You Lose Weight Too! Click Here For More Goji Details!