Don't freak about cyclospora, yet

The Cyclospora outbreak of 2026 is definitely one for the books as food-borne illnesses go, which is why we're going to talk about it. But, let's get one thing straight. If you eat something this summer and it sends you to the bathroom with diarrhea for days, the bug responsible is probably going to be norovirus,

not Cyclospora. In the US, we've got about 7,000 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis so far in 2026. 7,000 confirmed cases. Over those same months, year-to-date, we've probably had 10 million norovirus cases, at least. And norovirus is no joke. It kills about a thousand Americans a year. So far, there have

been zero US deaths in this Cyclospora outbreak. Even if it's underreported, which it probably is, the Cyclospora thing is still a blip compared to our normal baseline levels of food-borne illness. If you ate something bad and you're watching this video in misery on the porcelain throne right now, it's

probably norovirus. And norovirus is nothing new. Pedialyte. Get you some Pedialyte. You'll feel better. #notanad. Also, clean your phone. All that said, it is perfectly rational to be extra cautious about new things.

Because you don't know what a new thing is going to do. Just like when the new coronavirus showed up in 2019, at first we did not know if it was going to be any worse than typical seasonal influenza, which is always really bad. Flu is awful.

There's tens of thousands of US influenza deaths every year. Back in 2019, we did not know how COVID was going to stack up to flu because COVID was new. And so, for better and for worse, public health authorities all over the world adopted a posture of severe caution. And indeed, in 2020, COVID

turned out to be way worse than influenza, killing hundreds of thousands of people in the US alone. We've since gotten that somewhat under control, and flu killed more Americans last year than COVID did, but COVID still killed tens of thousands of people here.

With foodborne illness, norovirus may be the worst, at least for now, but it it it is the devil we know.

how to test for it. We know how to track it, how to treat it. We know how it spreads. We know it peaks in the winter and dips in the summer, though a lot of people still get it in the summer. We know it loves a good cruise ship.

Norovirus is the devil we know. Cyclospora has really only been a thing in the US since the 2010s. It is endemic in tropical climates where lots of humans live. And so, 3 or 4% of humans worldwide are thought to be carrying this parasite in their bowels right now.

But Cyclospora is a new entry to the US market, and this summer's outbreak is by far the largest on record here. So, it is worth taking seriously because we don't know where this is headed.

This outbreak also has a lot to tell us about the current state of our public health systems, about our fresh produce industry and its relationship to this government, I will attempt to untangle truth from exaggeration.