Experts from Tufts University in the United States have warned that strawberries and raspberries are among the most dangerous foods during an outbreak of the Cyclospora parasite, which causes bouts of severe and sudden diarrhea.
Experts told the Russian news agency Novosti on Friday that the danger in blackberry fruits is due to their complex and porous surface structure, which makes washing and cleaning them completely difficult, especially since they are usually consumed fresh, creating an ideal environment for the proliferation of the parasite that causes Cyclospora infection, and the same applies to strawberry fruits.
They noted that outbreaks of this parasite occur in the United States when food contaminated with infected feces enters from abroad. The parasite is not transmitted directly from person to person, but after multiplying in the intestines, it needs several days to develop in the external environment before it becomes capable of transmitting the infection.
The researchers stressed that countries with lower health standards, such as Guatemala and Honduras, face greater challenges in addressing this problem.
The university had previously warned of the possibility of the infection spreading outside the United States through contaminated food from a common source. However, Russian academic Gennady Onishchenko, vice president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, reassured the Novosti news agency that the risk of the infection reaching Russia was very low due to the limited trade with the United States.
The Cyclospora parasite is transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water, and is most commonly associated with fresh produce such as leafy greens, herbs, and berries. In the United States, most infections are linked to travel to areas where the parasite is prevalent or to the consumption of imported produce from Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
