{"id":558191,"date":"2026-08-03T23:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558191\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T23:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:42:11","slug":"us-reports-first-deaths-linked-to-diarrhoea-causing-parasite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558191\/","title":{"rendered":"US reports first deaths linked to diarrhoea-causing parasite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced, the first deaths confirmed in the US related to the microscopic parasite<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said both people had underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by the intestinal illness and dehydration. The department said it would not provide additional information about the deaths.<\/p>\n

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite<\/a> that commonly causes watery diarrhoea \u201cwith frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements\u201d, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.<\/p>\n

The CDC says the illness, called cyclosporiasis, is rarely deadly.<\/p>\n

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through faeces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to faeces-contaminated irrigation water.<\/p>\n

Cyclosporiasis is less common than other foodborne illnesses, including salmonella and E coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few US Cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n

Previously, 2019 saw the most reported US cyclosporiasis cases, with about 4700.<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is aware of more than 18,000 confirmed or suspected cases<\/a> in the current surge. But CDC numbers can lag state reports, which suggest the number is more than 20,000 nationwide<\/p>\n

Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico<\/a> served at Taco Bell locations in nine states<\/a> as a source of the widespread outbreak. As of late July, the number of cases linked to the lettuce was 1947, including at least 98 people who had to be hospitalised, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

The agency has said other \u201cbrands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels\u201d could be tied to the outbreak as the investigation continues.<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a cold snap closes roads, mothers plead for help to save stranded sons, and Ariana Grande\u2019s big decision. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced, the first deaths confirmed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,134,111,139,64,69],"class_list":["post-558191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-north-america","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}