Overview
- U.S. health authorities have been investigating a surge of Cyclospora infections that began in early May and now includes thousands of confirmed and suspected cases across 34 states.
- The infection causes intense watery diarrhea that can last weeks and relapse if untreated, and it requires specific antiparasitic antibiotics that clinicians must request in testing.
- Epidemiologists have not identified a single contaminated food or water source so the CDC and state teams are tracing produce supply chains and patient exposures.
- Mexican infectious‑disease experts have warned the outbreak could reach Mexico through traded produce or contaminated irrigation and have urged stepped‑up surveillance and consumer precautions.
- Public guidance stresses buying produce with traceable origin, avoiding raw leafy greens from informal vendors, thoroughly washing foods, and cooking at temperatures above 70 °C to inactivate the parasite.