Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal disease 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 infected with cyclospora may or may not experience symptoms. The disease typically causes diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” the public health agency says.

If left untreated, the illness can last from a few days to more than a month, and symptoms may return after they seem to dissipate.

It usually takes about a week after infection to get sick.

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

The epidemiologist wrote in a July 8 bulletin that transmission was exclusively fecal-oral through ingestion of contaminated water or food.