TRAVERSE CITY – More than 1,000 cases of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by a parasite, have been reported across Michigan. The growing food-borne illness outbreak is prompting health professionals to remind people to take extra precautions.<\/p>\n
Cyclosporiasis can cause significant intestinal symptoms, including watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and fatigue. These symptoms can last for one to two weeks. While Michigan has surpassed 1,000 reported cases, Munson Health care has noted only a handful of cases in Northwest Michigan and investigators are still working to determine the cause of the outbreak.<\/p>\n
Most people infected with the parasite typically recover on their own. However, health professionals advise those experiencing prolonged symptoms or signs of dehydration to contact a health care provider. <\/p>\n
Dr. Joe Santangelo, Munson Health care\u2019s Chief Medical Officer, described the parasite and its effects. \u201cCyclospora is a parasite. It causes really significant intestinal symptoms. So it causes watery diarrhea, which can be really, really uncomfortable.\u201d There is no reason for people to avoid fresh produce entirely. Doctors recommend thoroughly washing all fruits and vegetables before consumption. They also suggest washing hands before preparing food and after using the bathroom. Staying hydrated is important for anyone who develops symptoms. <\/p>\n
Dr. Santangelo clarified the effectiveness of washing produce against the parasite. He said it \u201cmight be a good time to think about choosing fresh fruits and vegetables that are easier to wash. This parasite is not killed by washing, but it can be washed off of vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TRAVERSE CITY – More than 1,000 cases of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by a parasite, have been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[97259,163,521,85,46],"class_list":["post-536467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ap-news","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}