It might be that so few microbes are required to infect a person that they escape detection by current techniques. The story also notes that health officials are trying to rush into the field a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test that could detect even a single microbe. PCR testing began Thursday at six laboratories to try to detect cyclospora on fruit. But in the rush, some experts have expressed concern that the new tests might not be subjected to the usual rigorous scientific process. Investigation of the outbreaks has been further complicated by the medical novelty of cyclospora.
Most doctors lack experience in diagnosing and treating cyclospora, if they have ever heard of it.
Many laboratories do not test for cyclospora, and many that do are not adequately trained in how to detect it. Little is known about cyclospora's life cycle, the ways it spreads, and whether birds or animals that feed on berries are involved. This means that experts have little idea how cyclospora reaches the berries, or whether humans are the only hosts. In many investigations of disease outbreak, information obtained in the initial stages turns out to be wrong. Epidemiologists are looking into the possibility that the initial warning against eating strawberries might have been premature.