STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Health officials in Michigan say two people have died as part of the outbreak of cyclosporiasis. That's the foodborne illness that has affected people across this country. Michigan has more than 11,000 reported cases, more than any other state, and almost 200 hospitalizations. Kate Wells is following all of this for our partner KFF Health News. Kate, good morning.
KATE WELLS: Good morning.
INSKEEP: What have you learned about the two people who've died?
WELLS: We don't know a lot at this point. We know that these were both patients who had underlying health conditions, that they may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration. We also know that they both got sick before the mid-July recall of lettuce from Taylor Farms. That's the California-based grower. The state health officials are also stressing that cyclosporiasis is not generally life-threatening, that these kinds of deaths are rare.
We do want to be careful, though, at this point because we just don't know to what degree cyclosporiasis was a factor in these deaths. But we are talking about an illness here that if it is not treated, it can be really prolonged. It can recur after it seems like it's over. And, of course, the biggest impact are on the most vulnerable people, infants, older adults, people with compromised immune systems.
INSKEEP: I'm just listening to little bits of what you're saying there, where you say that these were people with underlying health conditions. I guess that is why authorities would emphasize this is not necessarily a fatal disease. These were people who were on the edge to begin with, is what they're saying. Is that right?
WELLS: We don't know. We're getting very little information at this point. It's not unusual that the people who would die from a foodborne illness would have an underlying health condition. But, I mean, that is a lot of people we're talking about here with compromised immune systems. And we just do not have a lot of information about these deaths right now.
We do know that there are several outbreaks happening at this point. They're not necessarily connected to each other. The FDA says Michigan is part of a nine-state outbreak. But we really have just got local public health nurses here walking through with people everything that they have eaten in great detail. I mean, we're talking about going back two weeks to when these symptoms started and just putting enormous number of hours into trying to trace the source here.
INSKEEP: Yeah, which is challenging. You said that this nine-state outbreak is linked in part to lettuce. But these people who died seem to have become sick before they could've eaten the lettuce. So is there anything really known about where this parasite is coming from?
WELLS: So they could have eaten the lettuce. We don't know...
INSKEEP: Got it.
WELLS: ...Because they were sickened before of the recall.
INSKEEP: Oh, before the recall. Got it. Go on.
WELLS: Some people, yeah, they've been avoiding lettuce. Some people have been, you know, avoiding Taco Bell. But there's only been one FDA-linked voluntary recall at this point. That is the Taylor Farms one. That's the iceberg lettuce that was grown in Mexico. It was then sold at stores like Walmart and Taco Bell, and it was distributed under a bunch of brand names in at least 27 states.
But that does not give us a clear answer for what's causing this in all of the other states. I mean, we've got 45 states with cases at this point. And at the state level, you know, you've got health officials that are saying, don't rule out other possible sources here. You're seeing North Carolina mention parsley, cilantro. I think it just feels very confusing to a lot of people now, including health officials.
INSKEEP: What are health officials telling people to do? How can people protect themselves, if at all?
WELLS: Oh, well, so people here in Michigan are telling - health officials here are saying, look, this does seem to be linked to the lettuce. But they're not ruling out those other possible sources. And they're continuing to do these kind of in-depth investigations with each case, trying to figure out what some common threads could be.
INSKEEP: OK. Kate Wells with our partner KFF Health News. Thanks so much.
WELLS: Thank you.
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