{"id":290421,"date":"2026-07-08T16:17:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290421\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:17:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:17:03","slug":"explosive-diarrhea-parasite-up-over-400-in-a-week-in-hardest-hit-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290421\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Explosive diarrhea\u2019 parasite up over 400% in a week in hardest-hit state"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cases of a parasite that can cause explosive diarrhea<\/a> have quickly quadrupled in Michigan, skyrocketing to 681 people Monday<\/a> \u2014 up from 170 cases in the state less than a week ago.<\/p>\n

As of the most recent reported numbers, Michigan is by far the hardest-hit state. <\/p>\n

A New York state official told The Post 120 cases have been recorded across the state since May 1. As of Monday, Texas is reporting 48 cases, a spokesperson told The Post.<\/p>\n

Illinois also reported a concerning number of cases (between 11 and 80), according to the CDC<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 which only has data up to mid-June. <\/p>\n

Folks who get infected may not experience any symptoms, though dramatic cases involve watery, \u201cexplosive\u201d diarrhea, the CDC said.<\/p>\n

The more dramatic cases of cyclosporiasis feature \u201cexplosive\u201d diarrhea. Pattarisara \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

While cyclosporiasis is usually contracted through contaminated food like produce, experts have yet to identify a specific source of the current outbreak.<\/p>\n

For those who do get sick, identifying the infection as cyclosporiasis can be difficult. It requires special lab tests looking specifically for cyclospora \u2014 which are not part of a standard stool test. It\u2019s another reason it\u2019s possible many cases are going undiagnosed.<\/p>\n

What is cyclosporiasis?<\/p>\n

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that\u2019s commonly transmitted by drinking water or eating raw produce like basil, cilantro, and lettuce, that was contaminated with feces.<\/p>\n

Though we know the parasite hitches a ride on raw food, we don\u2019t know which ones might be to blame. The CDC says cases haven\u2019t been linked to a common source and are still investigating.<\/p>\n

The cyclospora parasite causes\u00a0cyclosporiasis, which can cause diarrhea, severe cramping, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.<\/p>\n

Normally, this isn\u2019t life-threatening. But severe diarrhea and vomiting can cause dehydration, which is dangerous if left untreated, especially in young children, older adults, and people who are immunocompromised.<\/p>\n

Alaska, Wisconsin, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida also reported cases in June.<\/p>\n

In the CDC\u2019s June 16 report, 145 cases were reported across 17 states \u2014 Michigan wasn\u2019t even on the map at the time. The CDC says all the people got sick in the US and none traveled recently. Twenty were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.<\/p>\n

The latest numbers from the CDC are from mid June and don\u2019t account for Michigan\u2019s high state reporting, indicating national numbers are likely much higher. CDC<\/p>\n

What to know about cyclosporiasis<\/p>\n

Cristy Cooper<\/a>, 51, spoke to The Post from the hospital about getting infected. \u201cThis is worse than like any flu I\u2019ve ever gotten or anything, it\u2019s just so\u2026it\u2019s miserable. I\u2019m worn out from it. I really am,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her first symptom was what she called \u201cunbearable\u201d diarrhea, which began June 25. Over the next two days, she developed excessive gas, fatigue, acute vomiting, nausea and painful cramping and had a fever of 100.2 degrees \u2014 all symptoms of cyclosporiasis.<\/p>\n

At its worst, she was using the toilet at least 30 times a day.<\/p>\n

Cooper is a dialysis patient and is immunocompromised, which made treatment tricky. Most people with healthy immune systems eventually recover from cyclosporiasis without treatment by resting, staying hydrated and eating what they can tolerate.<\/p>\n

Cooper\u2019s fluid intake had to be carefully controlled as excess fluid could cause complications like high blood pressure and heart strain. <\/p>\n

Officials recommend washing produce thoroughly to reduce risk of infection. joyfotoliakid \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Cyclospora takes one to two weeks outside the body to become infectious after passing into feces. That\u2019s why it\u2019s very unlikely to be passing from person to person.<\/p>\n

Treatment usually involves a sulfa-based antibiotic. She received an antibiotic regimen and is on the mend.<\/p>\n

Cyclosporiasis is known to sometimes improve after antibiotics and come back with a vengeance<\/a>. It happens when the first round of meds don\u2019t completely wipe out the parasite, allowing them to grow and trigger another infection.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to best reduce your risk of getting cyclosporiasis.<\/p>\n

Cook greens whenever possible. Wash all fresh produce under running water and get into nooks and crannies where microbes can hide.<\/p>\n

Buy whole heads of lettuce rather than pre-washed, bagged lettuce or salad mixes. Throw out the outer layers of lettuce and wash the inner leaves under running water.<\/p>\n

For herbs like cilantro and basil, wash under running water while separating the leaves. Do the same for green onions and snow peas.<\/p>\n

Go for frozen raspberries instead of using fresh ones. It reduces but doesn\u2019t eliminate the risk of the parasite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cases of a parasite that can cause explosive diarrhea have quickly quadrupled in Michigan, skyrocketing to 681 people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5236,30301,2953,9,11,10,49,51,50,40717,58],"class_list":["post-290421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-diseases","tag-food-poisoning","tag-health","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-poop","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}