Explosive diarrhea. Hundreds of cases. Seventeen states.
The CDC is running around right now, trying to track down a source that keeps slipping away. At least 145 people have reported getting sick, though the real number is probably much higher when you add up what individual states are seeing. We’re looking at hundreds of cases of cyclosporiasis, a nasty little infection caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. It ends up in your gut usually through food contaminated with human feces 🤮.
The timeline? Between May 1 and June 16 this year, folks started dropping sick. No deaths yet, thank goodness, but twenty people needed hospitals. The CDC is teaming up with the FDA and local health depts. They’re stumped on the specific source. It might be one thing. It might be several.
What does it actually do?
This isn’t the flu. This parasite doesn’t pass from person to person directly, which saves us the trouble of quarantines, but it loves fresh produce. Think raw greens, basil, cilantro, those convenient salad mixes from the deli. Raspberries too. If any of those got splashed with poop-contaminated water at some point in their journey, you’re in the crosshairs.
Symptoms show up a week after you eat it. Sometimes sooner, sometimes two weeks later. You’re looking at watery diarrhea. Really bad watery diarrhea.* It lasts weeks. Add in the nausea, the cramps, the fever, the weight loss, the muscle pain… it’s not a fun week.
Most healthy people bounce back. It takes a while. A few weeks. But if it gets bad, there is a drug. Trimethoprim-sulfamethxazole works for most patients.
Why can’t you just wash it?
Here’s the kicker. The CDC says washing helps, but it’s not enough. The parasite is microscopic. It clings. It hides in the little crevices of lettuce leaves and basil. You rinse, you rub, it stays there.
Cooking is the only way to kill it reliably.
If it’s raw, you’re relying on luck. If it’s cooked, it’s dead.
Michigan is burning
There’s a weird spike happening in Michigan right now. Over 170 cases there, spread across seven counties. That’s more than triple the normal annual average of about 50 cases for the whole state.
Is this part of the national mess? Or is Michigan drinking from a separate dirty puddle? Nobody knows yet. Officials haven’t linked it to the bigger investigation, but they’re watching it.
We’ve seen this movie before. Cyclosporiasis is rarer than E. coli or norovirus, but when it hits, it hits hard. Remember 2018? Nearly 800 cases tied to salad bars at McDonald’s. 2020? Bagged salad mixes again. Fresh produce is fragile. It doesn’t get heat-treated before it hits your plate, so it stays risky.
What should you do?
The CDC wants doctors to look out for it if diarrhea won’t quit. For us? If you’re feeling gross and you’ve eaten a raw salad or a fruit bowl, get checked.
They still haven’t found the source. The investigation is wide open. We eat what we eat. 🥗
