Speaker 1: Hey, folks, it is Tuesday, July fourteenth, and that nasty
Speaker 1: diarrhea causing stomach bug is spreading like crazy. However, they
Speaker 1: think they think they might have found the culprit now
Speaker 1: and with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.
Speaker 1: They think they found the culprit, which might change that
Speaker 1: salad order that you make. However, most important word I
Speaker 1: said there was think, think.
Speaker 2: They believe, they're pretty sure.
Speaker 3: We hope maybe.
Speaker 4: Please let this be in Yes, they think it is lettuce. Now,
Speaker 4: that is a very general thing or way to describe
Speaker 4: what's causing this because what is that? Is it arugaliz?
Speaker 4: Is it romaine? Is it package lettuce? Is it heads
Speaker 4: of lettuce? Is it iceberg?
Speaker 3: Lettuce?
Speaker 4: I mean lettuce, is greens? I mean that is a
Speaker 4: massive amount of possible produce and it is I don't know,
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 2: What do you do with that information?
Speaker 1: Is we're getting an increase in the number of cases.
Speaker 1: It really has gone off. But let me ask you. Yes,
Speaker 1: Michigan put out a statements saying they think they've tracked
Speaker 1: this down again think, but they said their information suggests
Speaker 1: quote lettuce or salad greens. Now, this might be a
Speaker 1: very simple way to explain it. But help me what's
Speaker 1: lettuce versus salad greens?
Speaker 4: I think it's just all leafy greens. But that's a
Speaker 4: significant amount of produce. And they also said so they
Speaker 4: said lettuce and salad mixes, and they added as well
Speaker 4: as other types of fresh produce including raspberries, basil, cilantro,
Speaker 4: fruit mixes, snow peas, snap peas. I mean, they're just
Speaker 4: like it could be a lot of things, So greens, salad.
Speaker 1: Greens, lettuce or salad green so anything in a salad us.
Speaker 4: Like, yes, I guess that means buy your what I'm
Speaker 4: not supposed to do. No, And also, of note, it's
Speaker 4: just concerning because what are you supposed to do. You're
Speaker 4: supposed to not eat fresh produce right now?
Speaker 3: I mean, we could take a break, So.
Speaker 2: Just fry everything up and you'll be saved.
Speaker 3: It is a fry it. We have to go from
Speaker 3: one extreme to the other. An explosive diarrhea or heart disease,
Speaker 3: your choice.
Speaker 2: No, it's that's hilarious.
Speaker 1: What were supposed to do. So let's give you the update.
Speaker 1: The update, and it's a significant one.
Speaker 3: Robes.
Speaker 1: We could start with the number in Michigan. Even though
Speaker 1: that has exploded, keep in mind that's just Michigan. The
Speaker 1: number there is twenty six hundred and forty. That's the
Speaker 1: number of cases they have now identified in Michigan. It
Speaker 1: has gone up significantly over the past week, even even
Speaker 1: the past several days, we're getting significant updates. But they
Speaker 1: do say they've had forty four hospitalizations. No deaths have
Speaker 1: been connected to this. Hospitalization is a big deal to hear.
Speaker 1: But robes, if I mean just just the numbers game,
Speaker 1: the more the increase in cases, I mean, just as
Speaker 1: a manner of proportionality ropes, you're gonna find we're gonna
Speaker 1: have more hospitations, and god forbid, people start.
Speaker 3: Dying from this.
Speaker 4: Yes, and because there are saying people with a healthy
Speaker 4: immune system almost always typically recover.
Speaker 2: It's just miserable while you're in the midst of it.
Speaker 4: But if you think about so a sixty nine percent increase,
Speaker 4: I believe is how it's being reported from Friday to
Speaker 4: today in terms of the numbers. But also consider this,
Speaker 4: how many people are suffering at home, not going to
Speaker 4: the hospital, not going to their doctors, taking some peptobismal
Speaker 4: or whatever, and just dealing with it, and so they
Speaker 4: say the numbers are massively underreported. So as significant as
Speaker 4: these numbers seem, they say, they're probably significantly higher.
Speaker 3: Well, well, if that's it's concern, I don't know how
Speaker 3: you do this? How do this?
Speaker 1: Many thousands of people get infected with something that means
Speaker 1: they all had to consume the same something? What was
Speaker 1: that that's out there that this many people are being
Speaker 1: impacted by?
Speaker 3: And this is a.
Speaker 1: Thing that you cannot spread human to human, So no,
Speaker 1: you're not giving it to somebody else in your house.
Speaker 1: We're all eating something. What in God's name is it
Speaker 1: that many people impacted in Michigan? But robes, we got
Speaker 1: thirty one states now, at least thirty one states reporting
Speaker 1: that they're seeing an increase. Is all happening, but robes,
Speaker 1: they don't even know if all of those cases are
Speaker 1: directly related to what's happening in Michigan.
Speaker 4: Yes, it could be different produce in different states, because
Speaker 4: they haven't named a supplier or a farm or an
Speaker 4: area where any of this produce is coming from. That
Speaker 4: all of this sickness or even of food, right and
Speaker 4: right now already, what are we It's July this year,
Speaker 4: according to the experts, is already on track to be
Speaker 4: the biggest year on record in history for cyclistspora incidents.
Speaker 1: Yeah, in Michigan gets fifty sixty cases a year on average. Wow,
Speaker 1: around twenty six in this current outbreak. Now, rodes we
Speaker 1: said thirty one states. I guess a lot of people
Speaker 1: probably sat up and they're probably.
Speaker 3: Wondering, am I in one of those states? There's state?
Speaker 1: Now we're going to give you the states, but Rose,
Speaker 1: I'm going through them. Looking at the map first, would
Speaker 1: you say there's an it's clear hmm, there's an area
Speaker 1: of the country being impacted, right, not being impacted, I should.
Speaker 4: Say, oh, yes, the I would say the Pacific southwest
Speaker 4: to the Upper Midwest, and just the west in general
Speaker 4: is much less impacted. And that's interesting because so much
Speaker 4: produce comes from that area, like California has it's on
Speaker 4: the map as having some cases, but it doesn't seem extreme.
Speaker 4: But from Texas going east, and there are a few
Speaker 4: states who seem to have been spared, interestingly, but there's
Speaker 4: a concentration of states along the eastern seaboard.
Speaker 1: Looking at this map, does it look like the stuff
Speaker 1: would move west? Like it's moving west?
Speaker 4: Possibly is that possible, possibly because New York, Michigan, and yeah,
Speaker 4: those are the two that.
Speaker 1: The northeast uff here maybe, oh my goodness, Okay, So anyway,
Speaker 1: that's what we are.
Speaker 3: So thirty one states. Are you in one of them?
Speaker 1: We'll give them to you just for giggles here, But yes, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Speaker 1: and of course Michigan right now is leading the way.
Speaker 4: But then you have cases in Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
Speaker 4: New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
Speaker 4: West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Speaker 2: That is significant.
Speaker 1: How is this is fascinating to think this thing is spreading?
Speaker 3: We don't know how.
Speaker 4: I'm nervous. I've got blueberries in there. We had lettuce
Speaker 4: last night. I mean, how much did we wash it?
Speaker 2: How much?
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm actually now, I kind of didn't think much,
Speaker 4: but I just saw how New York actually.
Speaker 2: Is getting worse and worse and worse. So that's scary.
Speaker 2: We eat a lot of fresh produce in this house.
Speaker 3: We do.
Speaker 1: We need to change some things. But again, Robe, it's
Speaker 1: it's how many people. How do they track two hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty six hundred people in Michigan?
Speaker 3: Does that mean all of them had to have been tested?
Speaker 2: Absolutely?
Speaker 3: They got medical absolutely right.
Speaker 2: They have been confirmed cases.
Speaker 4: So they actually went to their doctors and said, I
Speaker 4: can't you stop this explosive diarrhea?
Speaker 2: Can you help?
Speaker 4: And so they've gone to get treatment and they do
Speaker 4: recommend treatment. We can get into that in a bit.
Speaker 1: But again to your some people do they know to go?
Speaker 1: Will it be so bad that everybody goes to the doctor?
Speaker 1: To your point earlier, how many people are sitting at
Speaker 1: home just suffering and not a lot.
Speaker 4: Of people because it's an embarrassing thing. Let's be honest,
Speaker 4: it is embarrassing. Maybe not for everybody, But do you
Speaker 4: really want to go to your doctor and say, yes,
Speaker 4: so I'm having this explosive diarrhea. I mean yes, when
Speaker 4: you're in trouble and you need help, you will do
Speaker 4: what you need. But I think a lot of people
Speaker 4: might reconsider going to the doctor because, yes, it is
Speaker 4: an embarrassing thing to admit for some people.
Speaker 3: Man you need. How bad does a diarrhea have to
Speaker 3: be that.
Speaker 4: You go to the docta because you actually get dehydrated
Speaker 4: and you actually get weak, and if you can't stop,
Speaker 4: if you can't stop your body, you do need help.
Speaker 2: You do need intervention.
Speaker 1: So we've been talking about you've been hearing about it
Speaker 1: in the headlines for a little bit now, but cyclospora
Speaker 1: and the simplest way to explain it's a parasitic infection
Speaker 1: and it causes, yes, watery diarrhea, is how they explain.
Speaker 1: It is not usually fatal, Like you said, Rose, there
Speaker 1: is some treatment. Most people, if you have a healthy
Speaker 1: immune system, would be okay, But we wanted to give
Speaker 1: you the information directly from the CDC.
Speaker 4: Yes, so they say this parasite. You get it by
Speaker 4: ingesting food or water that contains this parasite. And they say, look,
Speaker 4: you may or may not experience all of the symptoms,
Speaker 4: but this infects the small intestine of your bowel.
Speaker 2: Yes, it causes.
Speaker 4: Watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements. So
Speaker 4: this is I saw someone in Ohio saying this is
Speaker 4: incredibly disruptive, and that might be one way to put it.
Speaker 4: You can't be you have to be near a bathroom
Speaker 4: at all times. Basically when you're experiencing this is that.
Speaker 1: I guess it's weird to even ask, how do that?
Speaker 1: What's the distinction? I guess maybe you'll just know, But
Speaker 1: what is the distinction? Why do they even call it explosive?
Speaker 4: Well, I think just because of the experience you're having,
Speaker 4: yes on the toilet. But they're also saying it may
Speaker 4: last from a few days to over a month, and
Speaker 4: then they say symptoms may seem to go away and
Speaker 4: then return one or more times. Relapse is very common,
Speaker 4: and that's why if you don't treat it, it doesn't
Speaker 4: necessarily just go away on its own. It might lessen,
Speaker 4: but it might come back. You really need to get
Speaker 4: help when you're dealing with this. So if you've got
Speaker 4: if you have these symptoms and they're not going away,
Speaker 4: you do need to seek help.
Speaker 3: And they might not hit immediately.
Speaker 1: They say the time between you're becoming infected and becoming
Speaker 1: sick is usually about a week.
Speaker 4: That's why it's hard to pin down what's causing it
Speaker 4: because normally if you have if you eat something and
Speaker 4: then three, four, even twelve hours later, you get sick,
Speaker 4: you can say, Okay, what are the last two things
Speaker 4: I ate?
Speaker 2: But a week later.
Speaker 1: Ro So that part is scary because folks, somebody could
Speaker 1: be consuming something today that we don't find out until
Speaker 1: next week they're even sick.
Speaker 3: So how do you know what you ate a week ago? Oh?
Speaker 1: My goodness, gracious, But they say, yes, it can range
Speaker 1: from two days to two weeks or more before you
Speaker 1: actually become sick. And now the people who are most
Speaker 1: risk rogues maybe increase risk when living or traveling in
Speaker 1: tropical or subtropical regions of the world where it's an endemic.
Speaker 1: In the US, though, they say outbreaks have been linked
Speaker 1: to various types of fresh produce. People can get infected. Yes,
Speaker 1: if you get it once, you can turn around and
Speaker 1: get it again.
Speaker 2: Ooh all right.
Speaker 4: So yes, they do recommend if you are experiencing symptoms
Speaker 4: to absolutely see your health care provider because there is
Speaker 4: treatment available. You can us in the symptoms and you
Speaker 4: can certainly shorten the duration and you want to get help. Look,
Speaker 4: there have been times when I have traveled around the
Speaker 4: world where I know I'm in trouble, Like you've got
Speaker 4: a fever. You can't leave your apartment or your home.
Speaker 4: You've got to get help. And those I have in moments,
Speaker 4: and it's been from travel where I have been like, yep,
Speaker 4: I need help.
Speaker 3: It's weird. You don't mess around when you travel.
Speaker 1: But to think some of those same precautions we often take, well,
Speaker 1: don't even even if you wash your fruit in some places,
Speaker 1: don't wash it with the water from that place. You
Speaker 1: got to use bottled water. Like, we get these instructions.
Speaker 1: And we've gone to more places than most, I guess,
Speaker 1: and places maybe that don't have always world countries breaking
Speaker 1: water and whatnot. But to think we have to apply
Speaker 1: those rules here, well, that.
Speaker 2: Is what is scary. We're not used to.
Speaker 4: You know, Yes, if I'm in India or if I'm
Speaker 4: in certain countries in Africa, I'm going to brush my
Speaker 4: teeth with bottled water, yes, and so we understand that.
Speaker 4: But yes, here in America, we don't think anything. And
Speaker 4: if you here's the deal. This actually is concerning. The
Speaker 4: New York Times did our whole article on this, and
Speaker 4: they said that, yes, while you should wash your fresh produce,
Speaker 4: they say washing will not completely remove the parasite, it
Speaker 4: can reduce the numbers and the risk of illness.
Speaker 2: But that's crazy.
Speaker 4: They're actually recommending, in moments like these, for you to
Speaker 4: peel produce anything that has a removable skin like because
Speaker 4: washing alone doesn't necessarily get rid of this bag.
Speaker 3: What does that bag mean? I've been guilty of this.
Speaker 3: You know, you get the bags pre washed.
Speaker 2: They say to not do that.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 3: It says pre washed, and sometimes says triple washed.
Speaker 4: Yes, And you know what, I take their word for it,
Speaker 4: and I eat it, and they're saying, right now, do
Speaker 4: not do that. Done that they're actually recommending not actually
Speaker 4: buying those bags, but instead buying the heads of lettuce,
Speaker 4: taking off the outer layers, and then of course washing
Speaker 4: it and then consume it.
Speaker 3: What lettuce is good right now? What lettuce is safe?
Speaker 3: Right now?
Speaker 4: I don't know that anybody feels good. We have a
Speaker 4: bunch of lettuce in our refrigerator right now.
Speaker 3: Even the lettuce is the thing? Oh my goodness, all right?
Speaker 1: And the other thing here, how is this thing spread? Yes,
Speaker 1: we're talking about people that eating food drink water that
Speaker 1: was contaminated, yes, with feces. Takes one to two weeks
Speaker 1: in the environment for a cycle sport to become infectious.
Speaker 3: After passing in a bowel.
Speaker 2: Ye speak, little oral. It's the worst possible thing.
Speaker 1: But again because of that, direct person to person transmission
Speaker 1: is unlikely, they say, So, it's not spreading that way.
Speaker 3: We're all consuming something that's making us sick. What in
Speaker 3: God's name is it? And thank god it's not killing folks,
Speaker 3: Thank goodness, thanks, because it is spreading like wildfire. They
Speaker 3: don't know.
Speaker 1: Now we've given you some of the answers from the CDC,
Speaker 1: but stay here. We're gonna explain why you beta. Stay
Speaker 1: tuned to our feed today because we have a guest
Speaker 1: coming up who is going to be able to answer
Speaker 1: your questions.
Speaker 3: We're excited to have them on.
Speaker 4: Stay here, Welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy
Speaker 4: and TJ. And we are talking about well kind of
Speaker 4: what everyone's talking about and fearing and loathing and hoping
Speaker 4: it doesn't happen to them.
Speaker 2: Yes, I know.
Speaker 4: By now you all have heard about the cyclist spora
Speaker 4: outbreak that Michigan has been basically the red zone, the
Speaker 4: hot zone, the target. But it is spreading. We just
Speaker 4: looked at a map. If you want to just google
Speaker 4: this online you will see if your state's involved. But
Speaker 4: thirty plus states now are reporting heightened or increased numbers
Speaker 4: of cyclist Spora incidents. And look, this is nothing that
Speaker 4: anyone wants to deal with, and if it goes untreated,
Speaker 4: it could last up to a month or more. And
Speaker 4: just when you hear the words explosive diarrhea, I'm desperate,
Speaker 4: as is everyone to figure out what not to eat
Speaker 4: so as to not have to experience that awful situation.
Speaker 3: Usually there's just spicy food for me. This is different.
Speaker 4: Yes, this is healthy food and you can't even wash
Speaker 4: it away necessarily. And right now, yes, there are reports
Speaker 4: that they believe that possibly could be linked to lettuce. Wow,
Speaker 4: that's very unhelpful. What does that mean? What products, which farm?
Speaker 4: What type of lettuce?
Speaker 2: Is anything green concerning?
Speaker 4: We have a lot of questions and so luckily we
Speaker 4: have a microbiologist in the family.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Papa Robak is going to be long later. We
Speaker 1: have Actually we don't check in with him enough and
Speaker 1: use him as a resource. But this is to explain. Yes,
Speaker 1: we say microbiologists, but this is his lane. This is
Speaker 1: what your dad does. Every time we go anywhere, there
Speaker 1: is a tip about what we should or should not eat.
Speaker 1: I will never get out of my head. Don't ever
Speaker 1: eat a sprout. DJ, don't ever eat a sprout, yes,
Speaker 1: because you can never really clean it.
Speaker 4: Dangerous food in the world are sprouts. That's one of
Speaker 4: my favorite tips. But he spent his entire career on
Speaker 4: food safety, so he is the man with all of
Speaker 4: the answers. And so actually, I'm going to put this
Speaker 4: on on my social media and we'll get the show
Speaker 4: Amy and TJ podcast on Instagram to put this up,
Speaker 4: but we'll ask please, oh yeah, and.
Speaker 2: Just completely completely You're right.
Speaker 4: I'll get it on your I'll get it on your
Speaker 4: story as well, but we'll ask please send us your
Speaker 4: questions at TJ wow r Wait, what is it?
Speaker 2: What's your handle?
Speaker 4: You know?
Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, this is this is devastating.
Speaker 2: It pops up when I when I put on insta
Speaker 2: what's your handle there?
Speaker 4: Oh? Yes, I knew that official TJ Holmes, Oh my goodness,
Speaker 4: and uh at a J Roebock.
Speaker 2: But is it? Wait? I don't even know my own.
Speaker 3: That's hilarious, going great this morning? Don't you think you
Speaker 3: know what?
Speaker 2: This is amazing?
Speaker 4: I don't even know my own Instagram handle, but I'm
Speaker 4: sure y'all will find it. We'll ask you for your questions.
Speaker 4: So any questions you may have about Cyclospora the outbreak,
Speaker 4: please send them our way and we will include them
Speaker 4: in our interview with Michael Robock, which we're gonna have
Speaker 4: up later this afternoon, so please check it out. This
Speaker 4: is of well, it's urgent right now at this point
Speaker 4: in this country, and so we need some answers and
Speaker 4: we have the guy who can.
Speaker 2: Answer your questions for you, so please stay tuned for that.
Speaker 4: But in the meantime, we always appreciate you listening to us.
Speaker 2: Everyone.
Speaker 4: I made me robot alongside official TJ Holmes.
Speaker 2: We'll talk to you soon.