About this episode

This episode discusses the cyclospora parasite, its symptoms, outbreak status, and laboratory diagnosis methods.

It starts out with a couple of stomach twinges, maybe a little nausea, maybe some sharp pains, and then… before you know it, you are running to the closest toilet with which you become very, very familiar. Cyclospora causes frequent watery diarrhea with sometime "explosive" bowel movements, but is typically a relatively rare cause of infectious diarrhea. However, the U.S. is in the midst of one of the largest documented cyclosporiasis outbreaks. How does one acquire this parasite? What are the risks? And – most importantly for our audience – how does the lab approach diagnosis? Guests: Daniel Rhoads, M.D. Bobbi Pritt, M.D. Marc Couturier, Ph.D., D(ABMM) Links: This episode is brought to you by the Journal of Clinical Microbiology . Visit asm.org/ jcm to browse issues and/or submit a manuscript. If you plan to publish in JCM, ASM Members get up to 50% off publishing fees. Visit asm.org/ joinasm to sign up.

Sponsors

Journal of Clinical Microbiology

More episodes of Editors in Conversation

• Next Gen Careers in Clinical Microbiology · July 10, 2026 · 30 min
• AI and Antibiotic Discovery · July 1, 2026 · 44 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Editors in Conversation podcast page.