Clinicians are tracking scores of cases of gastrointestinal illness, including “sudden, explosive diarrhea,” caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensi in the U.S., especially in southeast Michigan and northern Ohio. CIDRAP has the news.
Michigan currently has 1,251 cases of cyclosporiasis, “more than doubling the case count reported over the July 4 weekend. Typically, Michigan reports around 50 cases per year, but during the last week of June state officials first noted an outbreak of 170 cases that has since skyrocketed.” In Ohio counties bordering southeast Michigan, “officials are tracking more than 500 cases, including 306 in Lucas County.”
No source has been identified in the outbreaks, but the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services is recommending “enhanced washing procedures for ‘restaurants, commercial kitchens, and other entities preparing or serving raw produce in Southeast Michigan.”
True case counts for the illness are unknown, as the CDC made tracking the bacteria “optional” as of July 1, 2025. The CDC is not keeping up with national data on recent outbreaks.
