Parasites lurking in batches of McDonald’s salads leave at least 100 people vomiting from intestinal bug
McDonald's is removing the product from as many as 3,000 stores in the Midwest after the Cyclospora parasite outbreak
MORE than 100 McDonald's customers in two US states have been struck down by a vomit and diarrhoea-inducing virus.
Officials in Illinois and Iowa said the cases appear to be linked to the Cyclospora parasite lurking in the fast food chain's salads.
How many people have been struck down?
The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed around 90 cases of cyclosporiasis while Iowa found 15 cases linked to the same illness.
Both departments believe the virus is linked to customers who ate McDonald's salads in those states.
Around one quarter of all Illinois cases reported eating the product in the days before they became ill.
The Illinois cases date back to mid-May and the Iowa ones to late June.
How did the parasite spread?
It is unclear how McDonald's salads became infected but the parasite has been linked to other outbreaks in the US.
The same virus was behind the recall of which allegedly caused 200 illnesses in four states.
Officials are also blaming the parasite for an outbreak in Texas though they haven't identified the offending food yet, .
Iowa health officials confirmed there had been "several clusters of Cyclospora illness" linked to commercially available foods this summer.
What is cyclosporiasis?
Cyclosporiasis is an infection of the small intestine which typically causes watery diarrhea.
Other symptoms could include appetite and weight loss, intestinal pain, nausea and fatigue.
The infection is spread by ingesting food or water contaminated with the microscopic parasite.
Illnesses may last from just a few days to more than a month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What is McDonald's doing about the outbreak?
McDonald's announced it is removing salads from as many as 3,000 restaurants located in the Midwest.
Health departments said the company was re-supplying restaurants with salads from different suppliers.
They also confirmed the fast food chain is also conducting its own investigation into the outbreak.
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McDonald's, whose shares fell 1.4 per cent in after-hours trading yesterday, has been cooperating with the CDC and Food and Drug Administration.
The company told Sun Online: "Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to voluntarily stop selling salads at impacted restaurants until we can switch to another lettuce blend supplier.
"We are in the process of removing existing salad blend from identified restaurants and distribution centres, which includes approximately 3,000 of our US restaurants primarily located in the Midwest."
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