A parasite is giving 1,000+ Americans 'explosive' diarrhea

A parasite that usually causes about 50 illnesses a year in Michigan has now sickened nearly 1,000 people there, part of a nationwide spike that hasn't been traced to a source.

According to a state-by-state map at The Hill, more than a thousand Americans have come down with cyclosporiasis, an intestinal infection that can trigger "explosive" diarrhea. The CDC has logged at least 145 cases in its own May-to-June window.

The hardest-hit states after Michigan are New York, with 394 cases (273 in New York City), Ohio, with 177, Illinois, with 141, and North Carolina, with 110. Cyclospora spreads through food or water contaminated with feces, and in the U.S., it's usually linked to fresh produce such as romaine, basil, cilantro, and raspberries. The CDC says there is no evidence of a single, multistate outbreak, and it still hasn't pinned down what's making people sick.

Previously:

• Raw vegetable platters are making people sick in multiple US states
• I've stopped eating pre-bagged lettuce amid a looming leafy greens E. coli outbreak
• CDC: don't eat romaine lettuce