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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffA tiny, one-celled parasite, Cyclospora cayetanensis, causes cyclospora infection. You get it by drinking water or eating food that's been contaminated by an infected person.
No one knows exactly how cyclospora is transmitted. A person infected with cyclospora passes the parasite in stool. However, unlike some other food-borne parasites, cyclospora doesn't become infectious until days or weeks after it's passed in a bowel movement. So it's unlikely that you can get the infection directly from an infected person, such as a restaurant worker who doesn't wash his or her hands adequately after using the toilet.
Before 1996, sporadic cases of cyclospora infection turned up only in people who traveled in developing countries and in those with compromised immune systems, such as from HIV. However, since 1996, imported raspberries, mesclun lettuce and fresh basil have been implicated in cyclospora outbreaks in the United States and Canada.
- Information for health care providers: Cyclospora infection or cyclosporiasis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/cyclospora/healthcare_cyclospora.htm. Accessed July 15, 2009.
- Weller PF, et al. Cyclospora infections. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 15, 2009.
- Fisk TL, et al. Cyclospora. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Bennett and Dolin: Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/149885464-3/863193603/1259/2282.html#4-u1.0-B0-443-06643-4..50284-1--cesec1_8789. Accessed July 15, 2009.
- WGO practice guideline: Acute diarrhea. Munich, Germany: World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO). http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?doc_id=12679&nbr=006567&string=dehydration. Accessed July 29, 2009.
- Bitterman RA, et al. Acute gastroenteritis: Protozoan gastrointestinal infection. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/149885464-3/863193603/1365/282.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02845-4..50098-6--cesec129_4708. Accessed July 15, 2009.
