Cyclospora, the ‘Explosive Diarrhea’ Parasite, Cases Reported in at Least 31 States: See the Map – TODAY.com
Explosive diarrhea parasite cyclosporiasis is causing possible outbreaks in over half of US states. See a map of the rising rates from NBC News and the CDC.
A parasitic infection that causes miserable bouts of watery, “explosive” diarrhea is surging across the United States. Several states are seeing cyclosporiasis rates that are unusually high for this time of year. Meanwhile, health authorities are scrambling to identify the source driving the outbreaks.
As of July 14, nearly 7,000 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported by at least 34 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC believes 400 of these cases in four states — Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky — are connected as part of a large, multistate outbreak, it said in a health alert on Tuesday.
The agency is also investigating several large clusters in other states, as well as potential sources.
“Cases are simply exploding across the country,” NBC medical contributor and ER physician Dr. John Torres said on TODAY in a July 14 segment. At least 141 people have been hospitalized so far.
Cyclosporasis rates normally increase in the U.S. during the warmer months, according to the the CDC. But the recent surge has sparked some concern.
The infection is caused by the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite, which spreads through food and water contaminated with feces from an infected person, also known as the fecal-oral route. Person-to-person spread is highly unlikely, per the CDC.
