🥬 What to know about Cyclospora

King County Marked Safe From Cyclospora, So Far

Apologies in advance for mentioning explosive diarrhea on a Monday morning, but such is life in the US right now. Last year, RFK Jr. announced plans to lay off 10,000 employees from the Department of Health and Human Services, and many of these cuts directly affected the CDC, including employees who would ordinarily be in charge of tracking this outbreak. The CDC also scaled back its main food surveillance system, which eliminated mandatory federal surveillance of cyclospora and five other pathogens. Now, tracking these pathogens is voluntary for individual states. Which brings us to the current national outbreak of Cyclospora—more commonly known by its main symptom, explosive diarrhea. [Defector Media]

• Has the outbreak hit King County? According to King County Public Health’s expert Ann Shen, it has not. “We aren’t getting reports of unexpected increases in cases, and there’s no evidence that the outbreak affecting other states is impacting King County so far.” [King County Public Health]
• Wait, isn’t this because of Taco Bell? On Thursday last week, the CDC identified shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell locations across five U.S. states as a source of the widespread outbreak. The lettuce was grown by Taylor Farms, which has been linked to past outbreaks. This applies to Taco Bells in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. However, a record number of cyclospora cases have been reported in more than 30 states, and experts have said not every recent U.S. illness might be caused by a single source. [Seattle Times]
• What should I do to stay safe? Cyclospora lives in the human gut and can spread through food or water contaminated with human feces, but not person-to-person. It’s a tough parasite that can take up to two weeks to show symptoms and, unlike norovirus, symptoms can come and go for weeks or even a month (and longer in some cases). While Seattle appears not to have an active outbreak, if you want to be extra safe, it’s always a good practice to wash your hands and any fresh produce thoroughly. Heating food to an internal temperature of 158°F (70°C) or higher is effective at killing the parasite. King County Public Health says it’s reasonable to not eat foods that have been previously known to have Cyclospora, like bagged salads, raspberries and packaged fresh herbs. If you start showing symptoms, talk to your doctor about antibiotics. [King County Public Health]

👨🏽‍🌾 WA farmworker complaints go unresolved: A new report shows more than half of wage complaints filed by farm workers with Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries went unresolved past a 60-day statutory limit. The findings show the department is severely understaffed, which is leading to backlogs and further disincentivizing filing. [Washington State Standard]

🎨 Seattle Art Fair returns for 10th year: Arts journalist Amanda Manitach put together this fantastic guide to the upcoming showcases of Seattle’s vibrant and weirdest (complimentary) artists. There are actually two taking place July 23–26: one at Lumen Field Event Center and the spin-off Assembly Art Fair, held on the same dates at West Canal Yards. Go see some art! [The Stranger]

🚉 Plan for 2 Line interruptions this month: Due to planned maintenance this Sunday, July 26, the 2 Line will be replaced by shuttle buses between South Bellevue and International District. The shuttle will run approximately every 10-15 minutes. This will happen again late evenings from Tuesday, July 28, through Thursday, July 30. [Seattle Transit Blog]