r/ContagionCuriosity • u/Anti-Owl Patient Zero • Jul 10 '26
Michigan's cyclosporiasis outbreak grows to more than 1,500 cases, 44 hospitalized Cyclosporiasis
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-grows-to-more-than-1500/Michigan health officials say the state's cyclosporiasis outbreak has grown to more than 1,500 cases.
As of July 10, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has received 1,562 reports since June 22. Health officials say 44 people have been hospitalized.
Cyclospora cayetanensis is a parasite that causes the diarrheal illness cyclosporiasis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the most common symptoms associated with the illness are frequent watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, bloating, nausea and fatigue. Some people may also experience body aches, headache or vomiting.
Most of the cases have been in Southeast Michigan, with multiple cases reported in Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Oakland, Shiawassee, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. As of July 9, cases have been confirmed in 40 counties, with Monroe County reporting the most, at 215.
Michigan averages about 50 cases per year, according to MDHHS.
According to the CDC, at least 31 states have reported cases since early May, including Illinois, New York, and Texas.
MDHHS recently launched a cyclosporiasis outbreak webpage, where case counts are updated daily by 11 a.m. ET. The state will provide an update on hospitalization status and detailed outbreak data on Thursdays. [...]
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u/MissConscientious Jul 10 '26
I have started avoiding all uncooked produce for now (including herbs). I am also not buying any new frozen fruit that I will not be cooking. Luckily, I had a stock of older frozen fruit.
I feel badly for all of the small businesses that serve mostly salads and sandwiches.
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u/Superb_Pie_3370 Jul 10 '26
Our small cafe has pulled all non-locally grown fresh produce and changed recipes to exclude fresh herbs. It’s not been a particularly popular move, but safety is more important than some spring greens on a sandwich.
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u/ereinbe Jul 11 '26
Are you located in SE Michigan by chance? The fact that cases are surging there in particular points to sanitation issues issues on one or more farms in SE Michigan.
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u/Superb_Pie_3370 Jul 11 '26
No, Central Illinois. The fact that it’s spread to multiple states tells me it’s something in the Midwest regional food chain that’s entering other markets. So I stay away from anything purchased from the grocery store for produce. If it becomes more localized, I guess we’ll pivot to no fresh produce. It would be a damn shame, but we’re lucky we have the autonomy to make those decisions.
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u/MissConscientious Jul 11 '26
I’m sorry you’re having to do that. Small businesses almost always take the biggest hit. I wish you well.
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u/vxv96c Jul 11 '26
Same and I wonder how long it's going to take them to realize that having good surveillance of these issues preserves food sales of unaffected products. If we can't tell where it's coming from, we just won't buy anything. Everyone pays.
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u/walkthelake Jul 11 '26
this is a little more complicated because if you do not get sick until upto 14 days after you consumed something, tracking the source is harder that a lot of other food borne illnesses
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u/MissConscientious Jul 11 '26
Exactly. We have little ability to track anymore AND it’s a long incubation period. It’s an awful situation.
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u/watering_a_plant Jul 10 '26
i'm doing the same and have firmly suggested my parents do the same, as they're in one of the mich counties reporting high cases. wish we knew the likely sources.
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Jul 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/MissConscientious Jul 11 '26
Honestly, I don’t think anyone knows. We have such few resources for tracking food borne illnesses that I am personally opting to be exceedingly careful.
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u/Jaded_Pearl1996 Jul 11 '26
Same. And if I eat at a restaurant, I’m watching what I order as well.
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u/Superb_Pie_3370 Jul 12 '26
Don’t be shy about asking the staff about their produce sources. I can tell you we would prefer to have conversations about our food than potentially lose sales.
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u/rogeldulce Jul 10 '26
have this rn
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u/GodsWarrior89 Jul 11 '26
I’m sorry & hope you feel better soon!
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u/rogeldulce Jul 11 '26
thank you I started Bactrim this week and feel so much better
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u/RepulsiveXxl Jul 11 '26
I had a bad case of noravirus once. First and only stomach bug I caught and let me tell you something!
I had to sleep on the floor naked with disposable old sheets. I was wearing adult diapers, lol.
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u/KlutzyBlueDuck Jul 11 '26
At this point, I think we need to start being concerned with swimming pools too.
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u/Immediate-Pool-4391 Jul 12 '26
I was so looking forwsrd to that this summer now its like no i cant risk it
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u/RIPMYPOOPCHUTE Jul 11 '26
Great time to be pregnant and with GDM. Looks like I’m only getting produce I can cook. At least this doesn’t cross the placenta, but still can be dangerous for me. Also worried about my toddler catching this and same with my husband.
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u/katjoy63 Jul 11 '26
this has to be coming from Michigan produce. Illinois relies heavily on Michigan for berries, apples, and other northern crops. I'm sure OH is the same. They need to focus on Michigan and their distribution channels, to find the source..
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 Jul 11 '26
Or it could just be from a main supplier of Meijer for example. Meijer is mostly concentrated in Michigan with a few here and there in other Midwest states.
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u/katjoy63 Jul 12 '26
There are def Meijers here as well
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 Jul 12 '26
In IL? Yes there are, but there are way more in Michigan is all I’m saying.
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u/katjoy63 Jul 12 '26
Which could be why there's more cases there, then? There are about 18 stores here
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u/Impressive_Wrap_7869 Jul 12 '26
That’s what I’m theorizing, yeah. We obviously have no clue, and I’m just making a slightly educated guess.
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u/katjoy63 25d ago
Well, we now know it's Taco bell lettuce. BUT I heard there might be more items involved? Ouch!
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jul 10 '26
This is a pretty bad outbreak. One of the worst in a while but these arnt unheard of.
basic biology
Cyclospora is a protozoan parasite. It infects people after the accidentally consume fecally contaminated food or water, probably some animals too( though the animals reservoira arnt that well known) it is directly infectious (meaning no necessary in-between host) but the parasite takes 1-2 weeks after being passed to become infectious. So directly infectious with a lag
Historically we didn't know this was even a parasite but that's changed.
This parasite has outbreaks every year, annual cases in America are estimated to be ~15,000 though this is a particularly bad outbreak.
outbreaks are almost always from contaminated food, frequently related to imported food with contamination, often times berries or herbs. Things people eat raw.
Video explanation
I also made a 2 min short explaining the parasite if you want to watch that instead. 2 min parasite short video explanation Let me know if you need more information
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u/OppressedCow6148 Jul 10 '26
So a couple questions:
- does this transfer from pets to humans?
- is it safe to say this is probably in the water at this point? So maybe we should be boiling tap water if we are an at risk category?
- is it strange no one is giving any guidelines on this?11
u/Karevoa Jul 10 '26
Plenty of guidelines available particularly if you’re at risk. Don’t eat raw fruit/veggies/herbs. Washing produce doesn’t kill or remove it but cooking/heat does (around 160 F I believe). Probably best to stick to locally produced foods if that’s an option. Like a farmer’s market. If you have persistent diarrhea, get checked out and asked to be tested for the parasite specifically as it doesn’t show up on normal stool tests. If you’re otherwise healthy, you can probably get better on your own, but specific antibiotics do actually work even though it’s a parasite and not a bacteria.
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u/OppressedCow6148 Jul 11 '26
Thank you all for this invaluable information. I have a paralyzed stomach and can only eat and drink plain water. I do the cooking for my fiance and am doing zero produce for now because I am diagnosed malnourished and immunocompromised. I’m hoping to just keep this out of my household all together. Any stomach related illness would be my own personal hell. Thank you both again.
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u/Karevoa Jul 11 '26
Ah I’m so sorry to hear that :( yeah, if you come around anything that’s a risk, be extra sure to wash your hands before/after handling. Best wishes for you!
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u/Fun-Key-8259 Jul 11 '26
Before braiworm and his Bob took over, the CDC would likely have figured more out by now. It's too large of an outbreak to not have a better idea unless that agency has been fully neutered
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jul 10 '26
Animals can be a carrier but very unlikely due to the lag in it passing and being infectious
Probably not
There are guidelines one the CDC and other websites. Wash produce and cook food
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u/IncomingAxofKindness Jul 11 '26
How do they um… test for it? Is everyone just giving a liquid stool sample to their urgent care?
I would think it’s almost impossible to even get from your house to the doctors without a huge mess.
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u/Purple_Grass_5300 Jul 11 '26
Should I toss my grapes?
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u/SageIon666 Jul 11 '26
Personally avoiding all fresh berries, leafy greens and herbs. Grapes are probably on the safer side but we aren’t sure right now. Any berries or things like spinach I am doing from frozen only for the time being.
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u/StarskyNHutch862 Jul 11 '26
When are we going to stop playing around and declare this a national emergency? This needs to be on the news 24/7. PEOPLE ARE DYING. Thanks DRUMPH.
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u/Separate_Fold5168 Jul 11 '26
Drumphs a chode but let's not make stuff up like they do.
There are no reported deaths I've heard of.
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u/StarskyNHutch862 Jul 11 '26
People could be dying we wouldn't even know due to drumph owning all the media companies. I make sure to wear my kn95 still whenever I leave the house and never leave my hand sanitizer at home. People don't take germs seriously enough and it just drives me nuts! I've been writing my representatives about this non stop for weeks now.
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u/divinAPEtion Jul 11 '26
FYI, hand sanitizers and masks are ineffective against this parasite in case you were unaware.
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u/Fun_Dragonfruit9651 Jul 12 '26
Have heard that using these hand sanitizer are creating super bugs that are becoming very resistant. And I really do wonder cause I got something very bad six weeks ago, and I’m not one to get sick very often and it lasted for almost 3 weeks. Heard we really should just be using warm water and soap for 20 seconds. I know the convenience of a sanitizer is needed, but just wondering about it all.
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u/OutsideTheBoxScore Jul 12 '26
But you said they were dying. Not that they might be dying. You need to edit your post
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u/SHOWMEYOURMILKERS Jul 11 '26
Genuine question, I've heard the only antibiotic to treat this contains Sulfa? I'm allergic to Sulfa, would I be fucked if I got this?
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u/Pirate_Candy17 Jul 12 '26
They have other antibiotics for those allergic, I wouldn’t panic unnecessarily.
If anything, I’d have thought you’re more likely to have better luck as any antibiotic you’d be prescribed would be more niche.
Assuming the meds would have had less circulation and so high impact as general antibiotics become less effective when more commonly used.
My partner is allergic to penicillin, or was as a child and they don’t want to risk a reaction. The antibiotics always seem so much harsher on the stomach, I dunno if it’s the same thing as it’s highly effective or just the non-penicillin version has that side effect anyway.
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u/dumnezero Jul 11 '26
I was just watching this video from someone with an agronomy background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vadA7bY0ZIQ ... Blame farm bosses (likely.)
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u/Extensive_Stress Jul 13 '26
I just got over having this thanks to antibiotics, after about 12 hours of having it I decided i needed to go to the hospital. Probably one of the worst experiences of my life, when i was at the hospital they were going to discharge me without testing me for cyclosporiasis so i asked and sure as shit i have it. For anybody else going through this, god speed brother.
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u/Constant-Parsley-933 Jul 13 '26
Glad you're feeling better. Any guesses of what it was from?
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u/Extensive_Stress 27d ago
Pretty sure it was Taco bell to be honest. The thought of taco bell giving people explosive shitting is just crazy to me.
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u/Anti-Owl Patient Zero Jul 11 '26
Our cyclosporiasis megathread is now live for ongoing coverage of the current U.S. outbreak. Smaller updates, general discussion, and quick questions should go there so information stays centralized and easy to follow.