Cyclosporiasis cases rise to about 2,600 in Michigan as outbreak continues

Anne Snabes, The Detroit News on Jul 13, 2026

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DETROIT — The number of cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan climbed to 2,640 as of Monday morning, an increase of over 1,000 from Friday, according to the state's health department.

Forty-four people have reportedly been hospitalized, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said.

Monday's numbers are up from 1,562 on Friday. Cases started to climb in Michigan in late June.

Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic illness that usually causes frequent, watery and explosive diarrhea, though state officials have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of the outbreak.

As of July 9, cases had been identified in at 43 Michigan counties, with the largest number, 215, in Monroe, followed by 160 in Wayne County and 159 in Washtenaw. But the number of cases has increased by 1,389 in Michigan since July 9. County-level case counts are updated on the MDHHS site weekly.

Data from MDHHS show that cyclosporiasis cases are present in every Southeast Michigan county.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state's chief medical executive, said the state health department's current leading hypothesis is that the outbreak is likely related to produce. No specific produce grower, supplier or type of produce has been identified as the source of the outbreak, MDHHS said.

Intestinal parasite outbreak extends beyond Michigan

Michigan's cyclosporiasis outbreak comes as other states across the U.S. see cases of the illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that as of July 9, 843 cases across 31 states had been reported in people who acquired cyclosporiasis in the U.S. since May 1.

The agency said it's aware that states are likely to report higher case counts of cyclosporiasis than reflected in CDC data and is "working closely with states to update numbers as additional cases are confirmed." It added that it's aware of more than 1,500 cases that "require further analysis to confirm the illness as domestically acquired cyclosporiasis."

Michigan only had 161 to 300 cases in the CDC's map of the U.S., the most of any state.

Advice for food consumption

Previous outbreaks of Cyclospora in the United States and Canada have been associated with bagged lettuce kits, raspberries, cilantro, green onions and snow peas.

Bagdasarian said that raspberries can be difficult to wash because of "all of those nooks and crannies." She said one option would be to eat frozen raspberries, which can reduce, but not completely eliminate, the risk of Cyclospora. She also recommended consuming cooked raspberries, like in jams or pies.

She also recommends that people buy whole heads of lettuce rather than pre-washed bagged lettuce. She said to remove the outer leaves of the head of lettuce and wash it well. She also said that for the other food products, "anything that can be cooked should be cooked." That includes cilantro, basil and green onions.

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