What is cyclosporiasis, the parasitic illness causing ‘explosive’ diarrhea?

Illness surging in Michigan and other US states is rarely life-threatening, CDC says – but it can have severe effects CDC investigates parasite that’s caused cases of ‘explosive’ diarrhea in 18 US states Cases of cyclosporiasis – a parasitic illness that can cause “explosive”, watery diarrhea – have surged across the United States in recent days, health officials have said, with an abnormally large outbreak of almost 1,000 cases reported in Michigan. Michigan typically reports about 50 cases a year, making the current outbreak the largest in the state’s history and one of the nation’s biggest in recent years. Ohio has also reported a sharp increase, with 177 cases as of 2 July, since the CDC’s last count. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded 145 cases across 17 states, as of 16 June, with some hospitalizations, but the agency’s data lags significantly behind state reporting and is probably a substantial undercount. Late Thursday, the CDC identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak. They have warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from T