Nurses chase Cyclospora using grocery receipts, food apps and detailed interviews

More than 900 people in Washtenaw County, Michigan, have been sickened with cyclosporiasis since mid-June, and a public health nurse has directly spoken with over 100 of them to trace the source. Linda Kim, working out of the Washtenaw County Health Department near Ann Arbor, says the illness is reported as severe. The investigations are notably different from typical cases because symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear, and people often don’t remember what they ate. Kim and colleagues use restaurant receipts, grocery apps, and detailed brand-level recall during calls. The county’s measles outbreak ended in late May.