Several North Texas counties, including Dallas County, have reported or are investigating cases of cyclosporiasis, a diarrhea-inducing intestinal illness
Texas is one of more than 17 states nationwide that have reported cases of cyclosporiasis, which is caused by a parasite found in contaminated food and water
Nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 145 cases of the illness from the beginning of May to the middle of June. The CDC gives ranges of the number of people sickened in each state; Texas had between 11 and 30 cases over that time period
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Collin and Denton counties have each seen two cyclosporiasis cases, local health officials confirmed to The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday morning. Those four cases were publicly
Dr. Philip Huang, the Dallas County public health director, told The News on Tuesday morning that the county is investigating eight to 10 potential cases of the illness. Cyclosporiasis cases are reported each year, Huang said, but it’s beginning to look like there are more cases this year than in previous years
“It does seem like (it’s) increased over last year,” Huang said. “We’re still assessing how this trend compares to last year.”
Collin County’s public health director, Candy Blair, said in an email that both of that county’s 2026 cases were associated with travel outside of the county. A Denton County public health spokesperson, Jenica Bates, said in an email that the county’s two cases both occurred in May. The “cause of the cases is unknown, and the impact on Denton County is limited,” Bates wrote
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The Tarrant County public health department did not immediately respond to a media request on Tuesday morning. The Texas Department of State Health Services also did not immediately respond
Cyclosporiasis is connected to the consumption of food or water that has been contaminated by feces. Those foodroscopic parasite. The illness is not typically life-threatening, according to federal health authorities, and it’s very unlikely to spread from person to person
The risk of infection may be higher in tropical and subtropical regions, the CDC says, but there have been cases linked to fresh produce in the U.S., too. The currently reported 145 cases were all acquired in the U.S.
Not everyone who is infected will experience symptoms. However, the CDC website says, the parasite “usually causes watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements.”
The CDC has reported 20 hospitalizations in connection with the parasitic illness. There have been no reported deaths. The illness can be treated, but many patients will also recover on their own without treatment
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The CDC’s case count is delayed, and some state health authorities have reported many more cases since the most recent federal update in mid-June. Michigan, for instance, is not included in the CDC’s count at all, but the Michigan health department has now reported more than 500 cases.
To prevent cyclosporiasis, the CDC recommends that people follow safe food handling practices and avoid foods and water that may have been contaminated with feces
