The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health says cases of Cyclosporiasis are not common in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the strain in the U.S. has not hit this province – nor is it likely to.
Newfoundland and Labrador has seen 10 cases of the parasite, roughly the same number as 2025. Most often, cases are linked to people who have just returned from Mexico.
Officials in the U.S. have recalled several batches of lettuce that were linked to pre-mixed bags of lettuce sourced from Mexico and sold in the U.S.
There have been no recalls in this country.
The CDC is investigating thousands of samples and has linked the bad lettuce to nearly 5,000 confirmed cases.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald (VOCM News file photo)
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says the strain impacting the U.S. has not appeared in Newfoundland and Labrador or even in Canada, but says people can take precautions by washing produce before eating it.
“We always want people to make sure that they’re washing their produce appropriately. If the Cyclosporiasis parasite is there, it may not completely get rid of that parasite, but it can certainly reduce your risk,” she told VOCM News.
“What we’re seeing is, it seems to be in pre-mixed kind of products, as opposed to buying a head of lettuce at the store. So these are more packaged products that we’re seeing. If you’re purchasing produce, try to get things that are locally grown or grown in Canada as there’s a lower risk.”
