Parasite-induced ‘explosive’ diarrhea illness is in Tennessee. Here’s how many cases have been reported in Nashville.
Tennessee is among 34 states with confirmed cases of the disease.
What This Story Is About
- Nashville has fewer than 10 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis as the CDC looks into the parasite-induced illness that’s impacted more than half of states.
Why It Matters
- People usually get the illness after consuming contaminated water or contaminated produce.
What Happens Next
- The CDC is still working to officially determine the cause of the outbreak, but Michigan health officials believe they may have narrowed it down to contaminated lettuce.
For Context
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Metro Nashville Public Health Department says there have been less than 10 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, a parasite-induced illness causing diarrhea and vomiting in Davidson County.
They say it’s not enough to classify the cases as a local outbreak because health department investigators haven’t been able to find a link between the cases.
“What makes it so difficult is that after you ingest this parasite, it can take a week, a week and a half, or two weeks before you come ill,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious disease at Vanderbilt. “And so trying to figure out what patients ate last Tuesday, oh, that’s very difficult.”
Tennessee is among 34 states with confirmed cases of the illness.
According to the CDC, 1,645 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in 2026 with 141 requiring hospitalization. The CDC has not reported any deaths from the illness.
“[Cyclosporiasis] usually comes to us in contaminated water or contaminated produce, vegetables of some sort or another, often imported but not necessarily,” Dr. Schaffner said. “Everything we know about this illness is that it’s not transmissible from person to person, so that relieves some of our anxiety.”
It can cause diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and sometimes fever, but Dr. Schaffner says it can be treated with antibiotics.
But he says there are precautions you can take to avoid getting sick in the first place.
Dr. Schaffner says you don’t need to avoid produce altogether, but you should be diligent about washing it.
“When you get any kind of produce or any kind of fruit, wash it thoroughly before you eat it,” he said. “In fact, the mantra is, wash it, peel it, or cook it.”
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has said that lettuce and other salad greens could potentially be the source of the rise in cases, but that it can’t completely rule out other foods. The CDC is still working on its own investigation into the possible source.
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