{"id":373013,"date":"2026-07-14T20:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/373013\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T20:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:38:12","slug":"which-foods-carry-cyclospora-what-to-know-as-texas-sees-68-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/373013\/","title":{"rendered":"Which foods carry Cyclospora? What to know as Texas sees 68 cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal health and food officials are investigating the source of a nationwide Cyclospora<\/a> outbreak that has sickened more than 1,600 people, including 68 in Texas.<\/p>\n

However, during a press conference on June 14, Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, said the agency had not confirmed a\u00a0specific food source<\/a>\u00a0months after the outbreak began.<\/p>\n

The U.S. has 1,645 cases of Cyclospora across 34 states, with 141 people hospitalized since the outbreak began in May. Texas officials told USA TODAY<\/a> that the state had\u00a068 cases of Cyclospora,\u00a0with 15 people having been hospitalized as of July 13.<\/p>\n

Cyclospora causes cyclosporiasis and spreads through food or water contaminated with the parasite. Here’s what to know about Cyclospora in produce and how to protect yourself.<\/p>\n

\"AUSTIN,<\/p>\n

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MAY 11: A customer shops for produce at an H-E-B grocery store on May 11, 2026 in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

Which foods have been linked to Cyclospora outbreaks?<\/p>\n

In the past, according to the Food and Drug Administration<\/a>, cyclosporiasis outbreaks in the U.S. have been linked to raspberries, basil, cilantro, snow peas and mesclun lettuce.<\/p>\n

As of July 14, the FDA and CDC have not identified a source for the outbreak. Michigan officials<\/a> have said an early investigation points to lettuce as a possible source in the state.<\/p>\n

Texas officials have not said what caused the outbreak in the state.<\/p>\n

How to prevent cyclosporiasis from produce<\/p>\n

Avoid consuming food or water that may be contaminated with feces and follow these food-safety practices to reduce your risk of foodborne illness:<\/p>\n

Refrigerate cut, peeled or cooked fruits and vegetables within two hours.<\/p>\n

Wash hands with soap and water before and after handling or preparing raw fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n

Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting or cooking.<\/p>\n

Fruits and vegetables that are labeled “prewashed” do not need to be washed again at home.<\/p>\n

Scrub firm fruits and vegetables, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush.<\/p>\n

Cut away any damaged or bruised areas on fruits and vegetables before preparing and eating.<\/p>\n

Cyclospora symptoms, treatment<\/p>\n

People experience symptoms of cyclosporiasis about one week after consuming food or water contaminated with\u00a0Cyclospora,\u00a0according to the CDC.<\/a>\u00a0However, some people in areas where cyclosporiasis is common may not have any symptoms.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of cyclosporiasis may include:<\/p>\n

Watery diarrhea (most common).<\/p>\n

Other less common symptoms include vomiting, body aches, headache, a low-grade fever and other flu-like symptoms.<\/p>\n

There is no vaccine for cyclosporiasis,\u00a0according to the CDC<\/a>. The recommended treatment is trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, commonly known as Bactrim.<\/p>\n

How long does cyclosporiasis last?<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Clinic states<\/a>\u00a0that cyclosporiasis can go away on its own. If it’s properly diagnosed and treated, the illness can last between one and two weeks. However, some people may still have occasional bouts of diarrhea for up to a month.<\/p>\n

If left untreated, symptoms may last for a month or longer.<\/p>\n

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas.\u00a0Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Which foods carry Cyclospora? What to know as Texas sees 68 cases<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal health and food officials are investigating the source of a nationwide Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[127438,128233,9941,131964,27,29,28,131965],"class_list":["post-373013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-cyclospora","tag-cyclosporiasis","tag-food-and-drug-administration","tag-fruits-and-vegetables","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-officials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}