{"id":1522954,"date":"2026-07-09T14:02:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?guid=52f430baec6191c97adb5efc1b2e9779"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:16:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:16:02","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-cyclosporiasis-how-it-spreads-how-its-treated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1522954","title":{"rendered":"What you need to know about cyclosporiasis: How it spreads, how it’s treated"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cyclospora cayetanensis is a unicellular parasite that causes an intestinal infection called cyclosporiasis. (CDC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

(NEW YORK) -- Multiple states are reporting an increase in cyclosporiasis cases, an intestinal infection caused by a parasite.<\/p>

Health officials in Michigan have reported more than 1,200 cases and, in neighboring Ohio, cases have topped 170.<\/p>

Here's what you need to know about the infection, including how it spreads, how it's diagnosed and how to treat it.<\/p>

What is Cyclosporiasis?<\/strong><\/p>

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, also known as Cyclospora, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>

The infection affects the small intestine and can cause watery diarrhea with sometimes \"explosive\" bowel movements, according to the federal health agency.<\/p>

Other symptoms can include cramping, bloating, low-grade fever, nausea and vomiting.<\/p>

The agency further said it takes about one week from the time of infection to become symptomatic, but that time can range from two days to two weeks.<\/p>

How it spreads<\/strong><\/p>

The parasite usually spreads through food or water contaminated with feces, according to the CDC.<\/p>

Foodborne outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been linked to various types of imported fresh produce, such as raspberries, basil, snow peas, mesclun lettuce and cilantro, according to the CDC.<\/p>

How the infection is diagnosed<\/strong><\/p>

A healthcare provider will diagnose cyclosporiasis by testing stool samples, according to the CDC.<\/p>

Patients may have to submit several stool samples on different days to detect the parasite because laboratory tests may have a hard time detecting Cyclospora.<\/p>

The CDC says a patient's healthcare provider will need to specifically request testing for the parasite.<\/p>

How cyclosporiasis is treated<\/strong><\/p>

Cyclosporiasis is treated with the oral antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), commonly sold as Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim, and taken for 10 days, according to the CDC.<\/p>

The CDC says most people with healthy immune systems will eventually recover without treatment, but if left untreated, patients may be sick for a few days to a month or longer.<\/p>

How to prevent infection<\/strong><\/p>

It's unclear exactly how Cyclospora contaminates food and water, according to the CDC.<\/p>

The agency says people can prevent infection by thoroughly washing produce, cutting away bruised or damaged parts of fruits and vegetables, and refrigerating pre-prepared or pre-cut produce.<\/p>

Additionally, the CDC recommends washing hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling or preparing raw fruits and vegetables.<\/p>

Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a unicellular parasite that causes an intestinal infection called cyclosporiasis. (CDC)(NEW YORK) — Multiple states are reporting an increase in cyclosporiasis cases, an intestinal infection caused by a parasite.Health offic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1556,"featured_media":1522960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/syndication.abcaudio.com\/files\/2026-07-09\/N_cyclosporiasis-ht-jt-270226_1783003202654_hpMain_16x9.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1502,1445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1522954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-heads","category-abc-health-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-11 16:21:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/syndication.abcaudio.com\/files\/2026-07-09\/N_cyclosporiasis-ht-jt-270226_1783003202654_hpMain_16x9.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1522954"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1522959,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522954\/revisions\/1522959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1522954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1522954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1522954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}