quebec tops 200 diarrhea-inducing cyclosporiasis cases. what’s behind the uptick?

quebec’s cyclosporiasis caseload topped 200 at the beginning of august, but what is fuelling the higher-than-usual number in the province?“i think it’s always a little hard to figure these things out. in this particular case, i do suspect there are actually more cases going around,” dr. michael libman, a professor of medicine at mcgill university in the divisions of infectious disease and microbiology, told the gazette.as of this week, quebec’s health ministry reported 223 cases of cyclosporiasis have been declared since the beginning of the year, compared to 79 for the same period in 2025. the average number for the same period from 2022 to 2025 was 70 cases.the intestinal illness, which leads to watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, is caused by the microscopic parasite known as cyclospora.“as in previous years, the majority of quebec cases are believed to be linked to travel exposure, primarily to mexico,” a spokesperson for the ministry wrote in an email this week.libman said when he looked at the province’s numbers about 10 days ago, it appeared “like something was going on in mexico and travellers to mexico. we had a bigger-than-average number coming back from mexico sick.“and so that’s not something for quebecers to be afraid of, of something going on here,” he said in an interview wednesday.the one good thing about this particular intestinal illness, “which there are not a lot of good things about,” libman said, is that it is “not transmittable person to person, generally speaking.”“it is contaminated food and water. and so we don’t have to worry that people go travelling to mexico, come back sick and then give it to their household,” libman said. “that’s very unusual.”quebec’s health ministry said based on the available information, “no quebec cases appear to be linked to the ongoing outbreak associated with lettuce in several u.s. states, including michigan,” where thousands have been sickened in recent months. earlier this week, state health authorities reported two people died from the diarrhea-causing parasite.the health ministry said it is “continuing its investigation of the situation in order to identify common sources among the cases of cyclosporiasis acquired in quebec, including through the consumption of potentially contaminated imported fresh produce.”last week, the province began urging shoppers to buy local and canadian fruits and vegetables as part of preventive measures to reduce the risk of contracting cyclosporiasis.asked about potential contamination of imported produce and if the investigation is currently targeting any specific country, a spokesperson for the quebec health ministry said tuesday when there is a confirmed local case of cyclosporiasis that isn’t linked to travel, local public health authorities will send the patient a questionnaire “to collect data and information on food exposures.”“analyzing all of these forms allows us to cross-reference information, potentially identifying a common food consumed in several cases and therefore the source of an outbreak,” the spokesperson said.“we cannot, therefore, predict in advance which food might be identified or indicate its country of origin. furthermore, it is possible that no common source will be identified at the end of the investigations.”

no food recalls related to cyclospora contamination

the canadian food inspection agency is “aware of the increase in cyclosporiasis cases reported in quebec and is working with federal and provincial public health partners.”“the cfia will take appropriate action to protect canadians if a food safety risk is identified. at this time, the cfia is not conducting a food safety investigation related to these cases, and there are no recalls related to cyclospora contamination,” the agency said in a statement this week to the gazette.the agency added it performs routine testing of imported fresh produce, saying that canada is “one of the few countries in the world” that routinely tests those items for the cyclospora parasite.“there is no evidence at this time that the implicated products associated with the u.s. outbreaks were distributed in canada,” the agency said.the public health agency of canada also confirmed it is not currently investigating any cyclospora outbreaks in the country.it noted cases reported throughout the year in canada are “linked either to travel to countries where cyclosporiasis regularly occurs, or to consuming fresh fruit and vegetables imported to canada from other countries.”“provincial and territorial health authorities are responsible for reporting on the number of cyclosporiasis cases under investigation within their jurisdiction. this information is shared with phac if an outbreak is identified,” the agency said.“when an outbreak is limited to one province or territory, it is managed by the local or provincial public health authorities. as such, cases within a single province or territory would be investigated by local public health authorities.”

better technology, more testing underway

while the majority of cyclosporiasis cases in quebec are linked to travel, libman urged caution over the numbers and what they mean because there is “probably more testing happening, with better technology.”many quebec labs have upgraded their technology, he said, and technology for detecting the parasite has improved in recent years.“part of it might be that it’s easier for us to find because our technology is better, so that could pick up some cases,” he explained.the other factor, which libman described as always really hard to sort out, is the fact that “people are just more vigilant” due to what's unfolding in the u.s.if a patient presents with unusually long-lasting gastro symptoms “in the setting of this big outbreak in the states, of course doctors are going to be more likely to ask for that test," he said.“it’s probably because of the number of cases we’re seeing coming from mexico, that there is something going on in mexico,” he said. “so there is probably that, too. it’s probably a mix of all those things.”are you a quebecer who had cyclosporiasis this year? write to me: klaframboise@postmedia.com

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