At least 18 states are monitoring clusters of cyclosporiasis -- an intestinal illness often characterized by "explosive" diarrhea -- and some are reporting far higher numbers than what's typical for this time of year.
Michigan has seen more than 700 cases since June, Natasha Bagdasarian, MD, MPH, chief medical executive for the state of Michigan, told MedPage Today.
"This is a very unusual pattern," Bagdasarian said. "In a normal year, we get between 40 and 50 cases for the entire year."
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) confirmed in an email to MedPage Today that the state is "seeing a higher-than-average number of reported cases of cyclosporiasis, consistent with what is being seen in several other states."
New York and Texas also have a high number of cases, but spokespeople for health departments in those states said the numbers are still in line with expectations.
