Parasite causing ‘explosive diarrhoea’: Why cyclospora is worrying doctors | Explained News
A woman in the US reportedly had to rush to the bathroom around 30 times a day after becoming infected with Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that causes explosive diarrhoea, dehydration and hospitalisation. The latest cyclospora outbreak is one of the largest ever recorded in the US, with case numbers already exceeding the previous record set in 2019. Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, hepatologist, clinical scientist and public health researcher, explains what makes the parasite so dangerous, and how common are its cases in India. The single most useful clue is the duration. Bacterial food poisoning burns itself out in one to three days and viral gastroenteritis in two or three, whereas cyclosporiasis runs for weeks. If left untreated, the illness may last from a few days to a month or longer and may relapse. That rhythm, in which the patient improves, believes it is over, and then crashes again, is close to a signature. The incubation too is wrong for food poisoning: it averages about a week and ranges from two days to a fortnight or …
