{"id":297188,"date":"2026-07-16T00:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T00:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/297188\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T00:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T00:22:14","slug":"how-to-avoid-the-explosive-diarrhea-sickness-cyclosporiasis-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/297188\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid the explosive diarrhea sickness cyclosporiasis in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (PIX11) \u2013\u00a0 Hundreds of New Yorkers and thousands of Americans have fallen ill from the explosive diarrhea-causing parasite Cyclospora, which causes cyclosporiasis<\/a>, according to officials.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health alert to health care providers, marking the highest level of urgency for a public health incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Cyclospora is unlikely to be killed or inactivated by routine chemical disinfection,” read a health alert released by the CDC. “No EPA-registered disinfectant products have been demonstrated to be effective against Cyclospora. “<\/p>\n

\u00a0More Manhattan News\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

What is Cyclosporiasis?<\/p>\n

Cyclosporiasis is an illness most commonly caused by a parasite called Cyclospora cayetanensis<\/a>. According to the New York City Health Department, you can become infected with Cyclospora by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What causes Cyclosporiasis?<\/p>\n

State and federal partners are working together to investigate the current cyclosporiasis outbreak. Officials have yet to identify the source of the ongoing illness, according to the CDC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prior outbreaks have been traced to produce like onions, basil, and cilantro.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What are the symptoms of Cyclosporiasis?<\/p>\n

If a person is exposed to Cyclospora cayetanensis, symptoms usually appear about one week after exposure, but they can take as long as two weeks to appear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Symptoms include:<\/p>\n

Watery diarrhea and frequent bowel movements<\/p>\n

Bloating, increased gas, and stomach cramps<\/p>\n

Symptoms can subside and then return if untreated. The illness may last a few days to a month or even longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Make PIX11 your preferred news source on Google: Here’s how\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Is Cyclosporiasis contagious?<\/p>\n

Person-to-person transmission is unlikely, even within healthcare settings, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

What should I do if I think I may have cyclosporiasis?<\/p>\n

If a person believes they have been exposed to Cyclospora cayetanensis, they should see their health care provider. The easiest way to confirm a positive result and diagnose cyclosporiasis is to test a stool sample.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is there a cure for cyclosporiasis?<\/p>\n

Cyclosporiasis can be treated with antibiotics, and a doctor may also recommend over-the-counter medication. Currently, the CDC <\/a>recommends treating confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis with a seven- to 10-day course of the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Can I reduce the risk of getting sick with Cyclospora?\u00a0The CDC recommends:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Washing\u00a0 any fresh produce thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting, or cooking<\/p>\n

Cooking your food thoroughly<\/p>\n

Refrigerating cut, peeled, or cooked fruits and vegetables as soon as possible\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do not drink water directly from streams, lakes, springs, or swimming pools\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (PIX11) \u2013\u00a0 Hundreds of New Yorkers and thousands of Americans have fallen ill from the explosive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3930,33345,109709,110216,113146,109706,110556,113147,9,56,63,65,64,3610],"class_list":["post-297188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-cdc","tag-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention","tag-contaminated-food","tag-contaminated-water","tag-cyclospora-cayetanensis","tag-cyclosporiasis","tag-health-care-provider","tag-health-care-providers","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-public-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297188","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=297188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}