Mystery Stomach Bug Reported in 20 Texas Counties

The Texas Department of Health has confirmed 112 cases of a severe stomach bug in the state.  This Cyclospora infection has now been reported in 14 states with over 350 individual cases. 

The majority of the outbreak in Texas has been in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  As of this report, there has not been a confirmed case in Deep East Texas.  The twenty counties in Texas that have reported at least one case include Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Guadalupe, Harris, Hidalgo, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Montague, Parker, Potter, Smith, Tarrant, Tom Green, Travis, Victoria and Williamson.

The root cause of this outbreak has yet to be identified, but Cyclospora infections usually are the result of tainted produce.  Officials urge all persons to wash any produce with water before consumption.

This particular infection can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, cramping, bloating, gas, nausea and fatigue.  In some cases, the symptoms can last over 6 weeks.  Nationwide, so far, a total of 21 persons have been hospitalized.  Officials believe that the number of those infected nationwide could be in the thousands since many of those infected may not have thought the symptoms severe enough to go to a doctor or hospital for proper diagnosis.