Cyclospora cayetanensis

Cyclospora cayetanensis

Protozoan that causes disease in humans

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a protozoan coccidia parasite that causes a diarrheal disease called cyclosporiasis in humans and possibly other primates. Originally reported as a novel pathogen of probable coccidian nature in the 1980s and described in the early 1990s, it was virtually unknown in developed countries until awareness increased due to several outbreaks linked with fecally contaminated imported produce. C. cayetanensis has since emerged as an endemic cause of diarrheal disease in tropical countries and a cause of travelers' diarrhea and food-borne infections in developed nations.

Cyclospora Outbreak Sickens 1,600, FDA Retracts Positive Test

Cyclospora Outbreak Sickens 1,600, FDA Retracts Positive Test The FDA retracted a positive test but still suspects Taylor Farms lettuce in a cyclospora outbreak that sickened 1,600.