Cyclosporiasis has sickened hundreds of people across more than 17 U.S. states since May 1, and Michigan alone reported more than 170 cases by July 1. The illness can bring watery, frequent and sometimes explosive diarrhea, along with nausea and vomiting, and it has already sent 20 people to the hospital among the U.S. cases counted by the CDC.
The numbers are drawing attention because they are climbing during the heart of the summer produce season, just as people head into Independence Day travel and cookouts. Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic infection caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis and is usually contracted through contaminated food, which is why a rise now lands harder than it would in another month.
By June 16, the CDC said 145 people across 17 states had contracted cyclosporiasis after eating food in the United States, while another 45 became ill while traveling abroad. Those U.S. cases ranged in age from 5 to 86, with a median age of 42, and none died. The agency has said its dashboard is a surveillance count, not a final outbreak report, and that the total includes clusters under investigation by FDA as well as cases that have not been tied to a common source.
That is the sharpest point in the story: hundreds of illnesses have been reported across a wide swath of the country, yet the CDC said on June 2 that it had no evidence of a single, multistate Cyclospora outbreak linking the reports. The first case in Michigan was discovered on June 22, and by July 1 the state said more than 170 infections had been reported, up from about 50 last year statewide. What has not been identified is the specific food or produce item behind the spike, and that missing link is what keeps the investigation open.
The CDC said on July 2 that it had no new data to provide and that its cyclosporiasis dashboard is updated monthly. With the season running through the end of August, the best reading now is that this is a seasonal surge with several clusters still being sorted out — not yet one confirmed nationwide outbreak, but close enough to keep public-health investigators and shoppers looking at the produce aisle.
