D&J Wingert <dwangert at ix.netcom.com> says:
>>Has anyone heard of an outbreak of diarrhea in Bonham, Texas, a
>>co-worker said she heard on the am news that there was an out break
>>there, all of the people involved ate at a restaurant (I choose not to
>>name it at this time) . I searched Medscape for new outbreaks but have
>>found nothing. Also checked OUTBREAK,,, nothing. This strain supposedly
>>lasts 16 months,, ??? Am wondering if she got her facts strainght.
<5bo5cu$t36 at news.tamu.edu>, richard <none> wrote:
>If you really need to know, try contacting the Texas Dept. of Public
>Health in Austin and ask to speak to their epidemiologist.
>Also, the head of their microbiology lab might know.
Actually, the health department might have an information service that
will have that information rather than nailing the head epidemiologist
or micorbiology lab head.
>My guess is that something is not right with the story. I don't know
>what 'lasts 16 months" refers to. Most foodborne outbreaks run
>brief courses: typically the illnesses are mild and if enough people
>have severe symptoms the source of infection gets tracked down and
>the outbreak comes to a halt.
Actually, there was an outbreak of _Cyclospora_ _cayetanensis_ last summer
in Texas - hit a few areas there. If left untreated infection can last for
months with several bouts of diarrhea. There is treatment for it but a
person might be allergic to it.
joan
--
Joan Shields jshields at uci.edu aka: joan at med.unc.edu (until March 1997)
University of California - Irvine
School of Social Ecology Department of Environmental Analysis and Design
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