No. of Recommendations: 3
Well, nothing like the U.S.'s biggest explosive diarrhea outbreak ever to take me out of vacation mode. But I’m getting really frustrated with the coverage, which leaves people struggling to navigate which foods are safe and which aren’t.
Some of this confusion is unavoidable, as outbreak investigations are messy and uncertain, unfolding quickly in real time. But some of it is a direct result of what happens when the glue holding public health together (i.e., the federal government) is simultaneously gutted, lacking transparency and centralized communication, and impacted by corporate interests.
So here’s what we know, what we don’t, and what it means for you.
What we know
The culprit is a microscopic parasite called Cyclospora, which spreads through food or water contaminated with human feces. This parasite lives in the human gut and is shed in stool as a tough, thick-walled shell. This is why it survives on produce and resists rinsing and typical sanitizers.
This outbreak, the largest in U.S. history, has topped 3,000 cases, and it’s not slowing down. That number comes from adding up state-level case counts, which are running well ahead of the counts on CDC’s website. For context, the U.S. typically sees around 3,000-4,000 cyclosporiasis cases in an entire year—so this single outbreak has already matched a normal year’s total, and it’s still climbing.
- Note that the real number is almost certainly higher: most people with a few days of watery diarrhea ride it out at home rather than see a doctor, and those who do see a doctor may or may not get tested for cyclosporiasis (it’s an expensive test!).
