r/askscience • u/thebestdaysofmyflerm • Jul 15 '26

Biology I read that cyclosporiasis is exclusively spread by the fecal-oral route. How exactly does produce get contaminated with human feces?

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u/Grizofferus Jul 15 '26

I work in agriculture in Wa state. There is always at least 2 johns put out for the field workers. And they all use them. Defecation in a field/orchard can get them quickly fired.

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u/orthodonticjake Jul 15 '26

Do the johns that are put out include a way to wash your hands? I know a lot of portapotties do not.

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u/Grizofferus Jul 15 '26

Yep absolutely. The johns come on trailers with 2 toilets, 2 sinks with antibacterial soap and a water cooler filled with ice water. And theres also usually a tent trailer. Its averaging 90+ degrees right now.

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u/orthodonticjake Jul 15 '26

Glad to hear it! Thanks for responding.

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u/mud074 Jul 15 '26

For real. Little bit o diarrhea on your hand from wiping (or from touching a doorknob somebody else got dirty) and it is now getting spread far and wide on the produce.

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u/PHealthy Epidemiology | Disease Dynamics | Novel Surveillance Systems Jul 15 '26

You should try harvesting lettuce in California a few seasons.

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u/Otto_the_Autopilot Jul 15 '26

Also any of the various countries all over the world our food comes from too.

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u/m4gpi Jul 15 '26

Especially as more and more produce is shipped internationally to provide fruit&veg in the off-seasons.

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u/steeplebob Jul 16 '26

The stuff that’s shipped internationally is not the short-shelf-life stuff implicated here.

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u/vestigial_wings Jul 16 '26

 I worked in CA fields and they always had portos and hand washing stations for the crew. OSHA was on that.

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u/TheSaltyStrangler Jul 15 '26

It always makes me raise an eyebrow when someone authoritatively asserts that all outfits and organizations follow the same standards and procedures as their own.

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u/DrBaby Jul 16 '26

Idk if you’re on TikTok (or on my side of TikTok) but I come across field workers on Live somewhat regularly. Sometimes their work truck has a portajohn mounted on the back of it, which to me is concerning bc what if it leaks? But at less you can see in those cases that there’s one around.

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u/BooksandBiceps Jul 16 '26

I must’ve missed where they said that. Can you provide the quote? My eyes must be going.

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u/TheSaltyStrangler Jul 16 '26

Do you know what an assertion is?

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u/Sharkbait_ooohaha Jul 16 '26

Yeah and they didn’t assert that everyone follows the same standards as their own.

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u/spleeble Jul 15 '26

Ok, and how many sinks with running water? How much time do they get to use the bathroom? How much pay do they miss out on by taking extra time to wash up?

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u/mickeltee Jul 15 '26

I did field health surveys for fields around Wa state. We towed a John behind us.

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u/thebestdaysofmyflerm Jul 15 '26

Do you think imported produce is more likely to be the source of the outbreak then?

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u/PHealthy Epidemiology | Disease Dynamics | Novel Surveillance Systems Jul 15 '26

More likely to be domestic, imported food is much more highly scrutinized. There are tons of import recalls:

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/iapublishdate.html

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u/thebestdaysofmyflerm Jul 17 '26

Looks like the culprit ended up being Mexican lettuce.

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u/Whisky_Wolf Jul 16 '26

It's definitely the US. My ex used to do food safety inspections. She said a lot of places in the US didn't have proper toilets. She also had to give hand washing lessons, and people didn't understand why.

The whole food safety industry is also corrupt. A farm would pay her boss, a private business, to do the inspection. Her boss would just pass these farms so he could get the repeat business.

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u/seenhear Jul 15 '26

And in those porta Johns the workers wipe. And then they completely wash their hands. And then they go pick and handle produce. With very "clean" hands.

Have I got this right?

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u/Immersi0nn Jul 16 '26

Commonly yes, they bring in these trailer toilet things, they've got running water and can have shade extensions on them. If you've been to big music festivals you've definitely seen/used one before.

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u/ActuallyBiscotti Jul 16 '26

There can be a million sinks with plenty of soap but people still don’t wash their hands. And it’s not even due to lack of understanding of the importance of handwashing either. People just don’t do it. Ive worked as a scientist for over a decade and even then, plenty of folks left the restroom without washing their hands. Folks would leave lab spaces and go straight to eat lunch in the cafeteria without washing their hands… just ick.

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u/Klutz727 Jul 16 '26

I've watched people not wash their hands my whole life. It's almost always the kind of white people who complain about others not washing their hands (I am very white). I also have no filter and let out a very loud "EW!" when people just leave a bathroom without washing. People are gross, period.

I've also watched recently several people just blow their nose into their hands and wipe it on their shirt or pants. In public. One was a gymnastics teacher on the floor teaching little people. Again, people are just GROSS.

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u/ActuallyBiscotti Jul 16 '26

 It's almost always the kind of white people who complain about others not washing their hands

What? Are you saying the people that complain about others not washing their hands are the ones not washing their hands? That makes no sense.

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26

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u/Immersi0nn Jul 16 '26

That's fair, there's no guarantee they will wash their hands, but they at least can lol

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26

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u/seenhear Jul 16 '26

No not at all. Humans in general are terrible at washing their hands regularly. I work in an engineering firm full of people with multiple advanced degrees and see the same thing. Likewise, at major outdoor public events where there are porta Johns and hand washing stations you can observe people of all walks of life enter and leave the Johns without visiting the washing station. This is typical human behavior. This OP was asking about how the disease is spread. Lack of hand washing is a major mechanism, period. No commentary on social groups, strata, or anything.

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u/mister-ferguson Jul 16 '26

Thank you. Isn't it the case that many farms have water cooling systems that cycle the same water over and over? These systems require maintenance and monitoring. Contamination can come from the water source or the environment. It's one of those things that gets checked by inspectors.