What to know about 'explosive diarrhoea' parasite outbreak in US

There were 145 reported cases of cyclosporiasis in the US between 1 May and 16 June, the most recent date up to which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shared data.

No deaths have been reported, and 20 people were admitted to hospital, the CDC said.

Outbreaks have been reported across 17 states since early May, including in Illinois, New York and Texas, says the CDC.

The BBC has asked the public health agency for more up-to-date figures.

State public health departments have been reporting increasing numbers of infections.

As of 8 July, Michigan health officials said there were nearly 1,000 cases reported in that state alone within a two-week period.

In Illinois, public health officials reported 141 cases on 7 July, calling it a "higher-than-average" figure.

Some 177 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in Ohio, officials said.

The number of people sick with cyclosporiasis is likely higher than the number reported because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for the illness.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite, according to the CDC.

People can become infected by consuming food or water that contains the parasite.

The illness is not usually life threatening, according to the CDC, and is less common than other foodborne illnesses such as salmonella and E. coli.

People who are infected with cyclospora may or may not experience symptoms. The illness usually causes diarrhoea "with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements", says the public health agency.

If untreated, the illness may last from a few days to over a month, and symptoms may return after appearing to dissipate.

It usually takes about one week after infection to become sick.

Person-to-person transmission does not occur, according to Dr Caitlin Rivers, of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The epidemiologist wrote in an 8 July newsletter that transmission was exclusively faecal-oral via ingestion of contaminated food or water.