A parasitic infection causing severe, "explosive" diarrhea is spreading across Florida and at least16 other states, prompting a Treasure Coast infectious disease specialist to urge residents to wash their produce carefully and seek testing if symptoms appear.
Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora, typically spread through contaminated food or water. According to the Florida Department of Health, at least 50 cases have been reported statewide between May 1 and July 4, 2026.
Nationally, the CDC has confirmed 1,645 domestically acquired cases across 34 states, with more than 5,100 additional reports still under review — numbers substantially higher than the same period last year.
Dr. Moti Ramgopal, an infectious disease specialist Florida Coast Medical Center said the parasite most often spreads through fresh produce.
"It kind of lives or replicates in these sealed bags of fruits and vegetables," Ramgopal said. "That's where they tend to multiply. So if you go to the supermarket, you buy them, you have to wash your fruits and vegetables very clearly."
What are the symptoms?
Ramgopal said symptoms typically appear about a week after exposure, though the incubation period can range from two days to a month.
"They can have frequent, loud, watery diarrhea," he said. "It's frequent, several times a day, 10, 12 times a day. And it's explosive — what we describe as explosive that just comes out."
Other symptoms include loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal cramping, bloating, increased gas, low-grade fever and muscle cramps associated with dehydration, Ramgopal said.
Because abdominal pain and diarrhea can stem from many causes, Ramgopal said stool samples must be specifically tested for Cyclospora — a step he said doctors need to keep top of mind during the current outbreak.
"It's important that the physicians are alert and aware that they need to test for Cyclospora," he said. "Generally, we test for other pathogens like clostridium and E. coli. But in this specific outbreak, you need to be very aware as clinicians and as providers that we need to test for this."
Treatment starts with rehydration and electrolyte replacement, Ramgopal said. The standard antibiotic is trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, commonly known as Bactrim, though patients with sulfa allergies may be prescribed alternatives such as ciprofloxacin or nitazoxanide. A full course of treatment runs about seven to 10 days.
Ramgopal said the current outbreak is being driven by contaminated food, not person-to-person spread, though human-to-human transmission is possible in rare cases.
"The human-to-human transmission is very rare," he said. "The transmission is usually from the vegetable."
Health officials have not yet identified the specific food source behind the outbreak. The CDC and Florida Department of Health continue to investigate, and case counts are expected to keep climbing through the summer, as Cyclospora cases typically peak between May and August.