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Food Safety Works Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network

SafeFood News - Summer 1997 - Vol 1, No. 4

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Water in Pesticide Spray Likely Source of Cyclospora in Outbreak

A field investigation in Guatemala conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that the water used in pesticide solutions is the most likely source of the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis that caused a multistate outbreak of foodborne illness last summer.

Pesticides are mixed with water, then applied to raspberry plants by spraying the mixture onto the soil or directly onto the plant. The water used for mixing may come from wells, reservoirs, and in a few cases, rivers or springs. In investigating the ten farms implicated in the outbreak, it was found that two farms obtained water from a river and underground spring and three others used water stored in reservoirs, some of which were open and could easily have become contaminated. Filters used for the water were not small enough to filter out Cyclospora oocysts.

The investigation looked at sources of water because other investigations of Cyclospora cayetanensis have reported water as the mode of transmission. Though CDC investigators concluded that water sprayed on raspberries during pesticide application is the most likely mode of transmission of the parasite, they admitted that other possibilities cannot be completely ruled out.

The CDC report made several recommendations for ways to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. One such recommendation advised that any water used to mix pesticides should meet the standards for potable water as defined by World Health Organization guidelines.

The report also urged continued cooperation between CDC and the Guatemalan exporters' association, GEXPRONT, to help in preventing or tracking any future outbreaks.

Source: FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, February 10, 1997.

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Updated Monday, August 29, 2011