Explosive Diarrhea Outbreak in Michigan Tops 7,600 Cases

Michigan's summer salad season has become a bathroom-based hostage negotiation. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) says 7,664 cyclosporiasis cases have been reported during the current outbreak, including 164 hospitalizations as of July 23.

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The state politely calls the main symptom "frequent, watery diarrhea." People sprinting down the hallway may prefer the term "explosive diarrhea," followed by several words unfit for a family-friendly website.

Where Michigan’s Cyclospora Outbreak May Have Started

Michigan investigators say lettuce or salad greens remain a possible source, but no single product, grower, or supplier has been identified for the entire statewide outbreak.

A separate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigation has linked at least 1,947 illnesses in nine states to recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico. That is one confirmed branch of this gastrointestinal tree, not an explanation for every case in Michigan.

What Michigan Is Doing About Cyclospora

MDHHS and local health departments are interviewing patients, tracing what they ate before becoming sick, and working with federal investigators. Case counts are updated every weekday, giving public health detectives fresh clues in America's least appetizing salad mystery.

How to Eat Greens Without Gambling on Your Bathroom

closeup photo of lettuce on gray surface — Photo by Jef Wright on Unsplash

Buy whole heads of lettuce instead of bagged mixes. Toss the outer two or three layers, then wash the remaining leaves under clean running water. Washing helps, but it can't guarantee the parasite is gone. Cooking greens to at least 158 degrees is safest. Also check recalls and immediately discard any recalled lettuce.

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Anyone with frequent watery diarrhea should contact a health care provider, stay hydrated, and specifically request Cyclospora testing because routine tests might miss it.

America's Most and Least Affordable Grocery Stores

This ranking comes from Consumer Reports, which basically filled up the same grocery cart at stores across the country, mixing name brands and store brands, then compared how each total stacked up against Walmart’s prices.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

11 Common Household Items You Can't Throw Away in Michigan

This list comes from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and its official landfill guidelines, outlining what Michigan bans from disposal and where those everyday items actually need to go instead.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

Source: Explosive Diarrhea Parasite Outbreak Hits More Than 7,600 in Michigan