illness

Missouri health officials say the CDC has added the state to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to lettuce grown in central Mexico, though the agency has not yet publicly announced the change.

Missouri health officials say increased testing and reporting have contributed to the case count as investigators continue searching for the outbreak's source.

At least 460 people in Kansas have become ill this summer due to an outbreak of the cyclospora parasite. Nicole Belote of Hutchinson alleges she became “extremely ill” after eating a Taco Supreme and spent three days in the hospital.

Food safety experts say contaminated water in farm fields is a likely culprit. But questions still remain about the current outbreak.

A parasite that causes severe diarrhea has sickened more than a thousand people in Kansas and Missouri. Federal officials are still investigating the cause of the outbreak, but it’s making some people scrutinize where their produce comes from.

Missouri health officials said they are confident the number of reported cases reflects exposure to contaminated food inside the state. But investigators are still working to identify the source of the outbreak.

Taylor Farms, a vegetable producer linked to the outbreak, issued a recall of iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 states, including Missouri.

Missouri still has far fewer reported cases of cyclospora, the parasitic infection than other Midwest states. Cylosporiasis symptoms include nausea and watery diarrhea.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 450,000 people in the US have alpha-gal syndrome — a tickborne allergy to red meat — while many others have never heard of the condition at all.

Alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat and other mammal products as a result of bites from the lone star tick, is on the rise in Missouri and Kansas. Public health experts say more research, and funding, is needed to better address the issue.

Brie Morgan Bauer, an Overland Park mother of three, had to get her limbs amputated after contracting streptococcal toxic shock syndrome while giving birth prematurely. She hopes that sharing her story will inspire people to "advocate for yourself, no matter what."

After the federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Acts expired, many states passed their own laws to require employers to provide paid sick leave. Missouri does not have a paid sick leave policy in place.