The cyclospora outbreak is hitting Michigan hard, and in Monroe County the impact is already changing daily life. Nick Palmiter, who lives in the rural county on the state’s eastern edge, said the illness that struck him in early July quickly turned into weeks of stomach cramps and near-constant trips to the bathroom.
Palmiter said he was in so much pain that he was using the bathroom 15 to 20 times a day. After a coworker urged him to seek care, an urgent care clinic sent him straight to the emergency room, where he learned he had cyclosporiasis, the intestinal illness tied to the cyclospora parasite. The outbreak has spread across the country, with infections reported in 41 states and more than 7,000 cases in Michigan alone, the hardest hit state.
In Monroe County, which has a population of about 154,000, state figures show 286 documented infections. Residents say the toll has gone beyond illness and into fear. Some people are avoiding raw produce altogether, while others are cooking fruits and vegetables before eating them or steering clear of restaurants. Online community boards for the county show parents limiting what their children eat, with one mother saying her toddler has been living on chicken nuggets and Goldfish crackers since the outbreak began.
Officials have been trying to trace the source, but the investigation has been messy. The FDA said the first infections were detected on May 13, and the number of cases has kept rising since then. Restaurants and big retailers, including Walmart, Jack in the Box and Taco Bell, have pulled food items from sale out of caution, with iceberg lettuce drawing the most concern. Taylor Farms was identified by FDA investigations as a possible source and voluntarily recalled all of its iceberg lettuce from central Mexico.
