Cyclosporiasis: When to Seek Medical Care, Duration of Illness, and Preventive Measures

On July 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there were 1,645 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis and wrote on its site that it “is aware of more than 5,100 cases that require further analysis to confirm the illness as domestically acquired cyclosporiasis.”¹

That means there are thousands of cases of cyclosporiasis in the US. CDC stated there were 249 reported cases at this time last year, demonstrating a significant increase in 2026.

Michigan, which is the state experiencing the greatest disease burden, has reported 4,312 cases and 102 hospitalizations as of July 16.²

With a lot of information still unknown about the source of the parasitic infections, it is important for clinicians and the public to be aware of aspects of the infection including prevention, when to seek medical care, and how long people will have the infection.

On deciding when to seek medical care, Kartik Cherabuddi, MD, FACP, FIDSA, chief hospital epidemiology officer at Tampa General Hospital, explains there are a few factors the public should consider including age, existing medical conditions, and fluid intake, with this last one being the most significant.

“If you're maintaining your fluids okay—the first 3-4 days—especially if cyclospora goes away…if this lasts a week or longer, definitely seek care.”

Cherabuddi cautions the public to be aware that in some cases this can last longer than other gastrointestinal illnesses and be a reoccurring infection. “This tends to be this remitting, relapsing course over weeks to even months. [As much] as three to four months is also being described, and it's that feature of the disease that it comes and goes away…that's the characteristic, defining feature for cyclospora,” Cherabuddi said.

He explains symptoms can be non-specific, so people don’t often seek care, and urgent care and primary care practices do not usually test for cyclosporiasis so this can make management for a reoccurring, food-borne infection difficult to manage.

In considering preventative measures, safely handling food is paramount.

“People go for extremes, right? Avoiding it completely would be the safest, but impractical and should not be done because these are healthy foods in general,” Cherabuddi said. “With fresh produce that we've all been hearing about, berries and salads and lettuce and things like that. Washing them is a good risk reduction step. Cooking them where possible is a lot safer. Avoiding them is really not what we should do because this can be drawn out for weeks, and we don't have a good source [of infection]. If we do have one particular source identified, and hopefully soon over the next week or two, then we could avoid that particular [food].”

As this is an ongoing, developing story, check back for more news and commentary on this topic.

References

1.Domestically Acquired Cyclosporiasis Cases in Multiple U.S. States, 2026. CDC. July 15, 2026. Accessed July 16, 2026.
https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00531.html
2.Infectious Disease Outbreaks. Michigan Health and Human Services. July 15, 2026. Accessed July 16, 2026.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/keep-mi-healthy/infectious-diseases/infectious-disease-outbreaks