People who reportedly consumed Del Monte Fresh Produce pre-packaged vegetable trays containing broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and dill dip from Kwik Trip/Kwik Star and were infected with Cyclospora as of June 21, 2018 (n=144)
June 23rd, 2018
Some of the elements of this figure were created based on an illustration by Ortega et al. Cyclospora cayetanensis. In: Advances in Parasitology: opportunistic protozoa in humans. San Diego: Academic Press; 1998. p. 399–418.
When freshly passed in stools, the oocyst is not infective 
(thus, direct fecal-oral transmission is unlikely; this differentiates Cyclospora from another important coccidian parasite, Cryptosporidium). In the environment 
, sporulation usually requires at least 1–2 weeks at temperatures from 22°C to 32°C, and results in division of the sporont into two sporocysts, each containing two elongated sporozoites 
. Fresh produce and water can serve as vehicles for transmission 
, and the sporulated oocysts are ingested (in contaminated food or water) 
. The oocysts excyst in the gastrointestinal tract, freeing the sporozoites, which invade the epithelial cells of the small intestine 
. Inside the cells, they undergo asexual multiplication and sexual development to mature into oocysts, which will be shed in stools 
.