{"id":373128,"date":"2026-07-14T21:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/373128\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T21:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:59:16","slug":"diarrhea-causing-cyclospora-isnt-a-major-concern-in-austin-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/373128\/","title":{"rendered":"Diarrhea-causing cyclospora isn\u2019t a major concern in Austin yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

A diarrhea-causing illness called cyclosporiasis has made headlines this month as dozens of states<\/a> report rising cases of the foodborne illness. But one of Austin\u2019s top epidemiologists says the city isn\u2019t yet experiencing a significant outbreak.<\/p>\n

Austin Public Health\u2019s Heather Cooks-Sinclair said the agency has confirmed less than 10 cases so far, which isn\u2019t out of the ordinary compared to a typical year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMostly, [cases in Texas] are related to travel to Mexico,\u201d she said, \u201cBut periodically we do have cases of cyclospora that are \u2026 domestically acquired that are related to a food item that is consumed here in the United States, and that’s usually a leafy green, sometimes a berry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyclosporiasis is caused by the parasitic, single-celled organism cyclospora. The illness isn\u2019t contagious. People can get cyclosporiasis when they ingest water, produce or food items that have come in contact with human fecal matter that carries the parasite. That can generally be traced to farms in the food supply chain where appropriate health and safety conditions aren\u2019t being maintained, Cooks-Sinclair said.<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local public health departments are still working to trace the source of the current cyclosporiasis outbreak. The CDC has confirmed 843 cases across the country so far, but acknowledges that this is an undercount. Some regions, notably the Midwest, are reporting higher activity from the parasite; the state of Michigan<\/a> alone is reporting more than 3,300 cases.<\/p>\n

Cooks-Sinclair said it makes sense that pockets of illness are popping up in some areas of the country, but not others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s related to the food item that is being shipped and distributed in that area, and it’s coming from maybe a different area of the country or the world than maybe the stuff that’s being shipped to a different state,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just depends on the distribution chain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the handful of cases confirmed in Austin, Cooks-Sinclair said several cases are in people with no recent travel history. The state of Texas at large has confirmed 68 domestically-acquired cases so far, including 15 hospitalizations. Epidemiologists have not yet zeroed in on a source for those exposures.<\/p>\n

Experts say the best way to avoid cyclospora is to wash or cook fresh produce to an internal temperature of 158 degrees Fahrenheit before consuming it. Leafy greens can be difficult to wash effectively, Cooks-Sinclair acknowledged \u2014 but since cases are low in Austin, she isn\u2019t encouraging people to stop eating them just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not something that I would recommend for our area for sure right now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Popular Texas grocery chain H-E-B has also reassured customers on social media<\/a> that their suppliers aren\u2019t reporting any issues with cyclospora.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with trusted suppliers who must follow H-E-B\u2019s strict health and safety standards. None of our suppliers have reported issues with Cyclosporiasis to date,\u201d a representative for H-E-B said in a statement to KUT on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Cooks-Sinclair said symptoms of the illness can take time to manifest after consuming a contaminated food item. If you do come down with symptoms that suggest cyclosporiasis \u2014 including severe diarrhea and loss of appetite \u2014 a doctor can order testing to confirm. If left untreated, symptoms can sometimes recur after weeks have passed. The illness can be treated with antibiotics prescribed by a doctor.<\/p>\n

Support for KUT’s reporting on health news comes from St. David\u2019s Foundation<\/a>. Sponsors do not influence KUT’s editorial decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A diarrhea-causing illness called cyclosporiasis has made headlines this month as dozens of states report rising cases of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,17878,54200,127438,128233,129720,132007,10510,9080,27],"class_list":["post-373128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-austin-public-health","tag-concern","tag-cyclospora","tag-cyclosporiasis","tag-diarrhea","tag-epidemic","tag-h-e-b","tag-heb","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373128","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=373128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}