Overview
- Michigan has become the outbreak epicenter, reporting 1,251 cases and dozens of hospitalizations as of Thursday, July 9, with case counts climbing rapidly since late June.
- The CDC and FDA are working with state and local health departments to investigate multiple clusters across roughly 17 to 29 states, but officials have not linked all illnesses to one product, grower, or supplier.
- Traceback work is hampered because Cyclospora cannot be routinely cultured, often yields too little DNA for genotyping, and its long 2–14 day incubation period makes patient recall unreliable.
- Health officials urge clinicians to test symptomatic patients and treat confirmed infections with trimethoprim‑sulfamethoxazole, and they advise the public to wash, refrigerate, or cook fresh produce when possible.
- Public‑health and laboratory capacity are strained, official counts likely understate the true number of illnesses, and investigators warn that pinpointing a single source could take months or may not be possible.