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FRANKLIN, Kentucky (WLKY) — Jessica Mallard of Simpson County, Kentucky, fell seriously ill with Cyclosporiasis during the Fourth of July holiday.
“We don’t have any deadly cases, but I can tell you I feel like I’m dying,” Mallard said.
She was admitted to the hospital with explosive diarrhea, fatigue, and unbearable stomach pain before being diagnosed as one of more than 100 confirmed cases of the parasitic illness in Kentucky.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had a child, but it’s worse than labor. It like somebody was ripping my stomach into two pieces,” Mallard said. “I couldn’t even barely get in the shower. I had a total of nine IVs.”
Her husband, Christopher, stayed by her bedside throughout the antagonizing ordeal.
He admits he was terrified.
“Just seeing her in that much pain and, you know, after 18 years of marriage, I was just like, what is going on?” he said.
After spending 10 days in two separate hospitals, Mallard was able to return home this past weekend. While she continues to experience lingering symptoms and is unable to go back to work at the moment, she also remains uncertain about what caused her illness.
“I never switched up. I never eat anything different. It’s the same salad,” Mallard said.
Mallard had consumed Marketside bagged salad with lettuce from Taylor Farms, a Mexican grower currently under investigation by the FDA as a potential source of contamination in the Cyclosporiasis outbreak.
The agency stated that its investigation is ongoing despite a false positive test result on Taylor Farms’ products. A voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce and salad mix from the company remains in effect.
Dr. Monalisa Tailor, a primary care doctor at Norton Healthcare, addressed concerns about salad safety.
“You can still eat a salad,” she said, while emphasizing the importance of washing fruits and vegetables.
Taylor also encouraged shoppers to consider local farmers markets for fresh food options, explaining that smaller-scale farming practices reduce the risk of exposure to parasites.
“They don’t get this exposure to this type of parasite because there’s less people managing and tending those areas,” said Dr. Tailor. “It’s not a commercial garden, so they’re watering everything on their own, and that helps significantly reduce the risk for an organism like this. Sometimes, some of the berries can also be a risk for this. So your raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, if you do have some of those that are ones that you picked up from the grocery store, maybe this is a good opportunity to turn them into jam or some other baked item. Because if you heat something up, that actually ruins your risk of Cyclospora and takes it away.”
Dr. Tailor also debunked the myth around Cyclosporiasis being a source of weight loss.
“Your likelihood of becoming dehydrated is really, really high given how hot it is outside right now and I don’t want someone to end up in the hospital just for IV fluids,” she said. “So, no, you don’t want to get this, it’s not the quick thing to help you lose the weight. It is a quick way to end up really dehydrated, feel dizzy, lightheaded.”
The Mallards have started a GoFundMe amid this unexpected health journey.
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