It had been years since Edgar Mercado had eaten at a Taco Bell restaurant.
But early last month, his 14-year-old son wanted some, so he took him to the one near Belmont and Milwaukee avenues.
“We ate there. A couple of days later, I got sick. My stomach was in pain, like somebody hit me with a hockey stick. I threw up a few times and then the diarrhea. I was dizzy and I couldn’t get out of bed,” the 50-year-old Mercado, who lives in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.
Once he was able to get to a doctor, Mercado said it was confirmed he had Cyclosporiasis, caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora.
“I couldn’t go to work. I sent them a copy of my situation and they just let me go,” said Mercado, who had been working for more than a month at a Jewel distribution facility in Melrose Park.
Mercado plans to sue Taco Bell and Taylor Farms for his illness and loss of wages.
“We want to make sure that each of our clients are fully and fairly compensated for the losses they’ve suffered. The second thing we’re looking for is to figure out exactly how this happened. How the feces got in the lettuce,” said Ron Simon, Mercado’s attorney, who has not yet filed a lawsuit.
Simon’s says his firm represents 300 Illinois residents who claim to have gotten sick from cyclospora.
“We want to make sure we force Taylor Farms and Taco Bell to take steps to make sure that no one else gets hurt in the future,” Simon said.
Neither Taco Bell or Taylor Farms could be reached for comment.
According to UChicago Medicine, cyclospora is a parasite that’s very hard to eradicate. Those infected can expereience loss of appetite, abdominal cramping and bloating, fatigue, low-grade fever and increased flatulence. Symptoms start two to 14 days after consumption and can last for several weeks.
“Cyclospora outbreaks are not new. We do see cyclospora outbreaks occur from time to time related to contaminated soil and produce,” Dr. Aniruddha Hazra, associate professor of Medicine and Director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program, at UChicago Medicine.
“I think the concern that many of us have in infectious disease and public health is that the extent at which this outbreak has been allowed to expand is certainly unusual, and what really something that should be taken note of,” Hazra said.
Dr. Hazra said the parasite is very hard to kill. The only way to be safe in eating spinach, for example, is to cook it.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, there have been 995 confirmed or probable cases of cyclospora, with 58 hospitalizations but no deaths, as of Tuesday. In Cook County alone, there have been112 probable and confirmed cyclosporiasis cases
Simon, Mercado’s attorney, said the federal government could do more.
“This administration made the decision to cut back on jobs and workers at the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] before the outbreak. As a result, there’s not enough people at the CDC to track and keep up with these cases,” Simon said. “They’re working overtime as it is. We just don’t have enough people out there trying to solve the outbreak and that’s why it’s taking so long.”
A month after heading to Taco Bell for lunch with his son, Mercado said he’s feeling better. Mercado added he did not take any medication to get well, other than drinking Pedialyte.
“It’s been about four days now that I’ve been back to normal. It feels good to be back to normal,” Mercado said. “I was praying to God every day to take this away from me.”