Texas has reported 48 cases of Cyclospora, a foodborne illness caused by a parasite that health experts say can lead to severe gastrointestinal symptoms.

Dr. David Winter, an internal medicine physician with Baylor Scott & White, said cyclospora infections typically increase during the summer. However, he said the current increase affecting several states could become the worst in years.

At least 20 people nationwide have been hospitalized with symptoms that can last for weeks.

“It’s really bad disease right now and sometimes you get in your intestines and that gives you these horrible cramps and gurgling and then diarrhea. In fact, the diarrhea is so bad, they call it explosive diarrhea,” Winter said.

Cyclospora is caused by a parasite rather than a virus or bacteria. Winter said the parasite multiplies inside the intestines, contributing to recurring symptoms.

“It’s a parasite. It’s not a virus, it is not bacteria. So the parasite, once it gets in your intestine, it starts to multiply. And then when it builds up a certain amount, then it comes out with this explosion, and then it starts multiply again,” Winter said.

The illness spreads through food or water contaminated with infected feces and is rarely transmitted from person to person.

The source of the current outbreak is unknown. Previous outbreaks have been linked to fresh fruits and vegetables, including basil, cilantro, raspberries and snow peas.

Doctors recommend thoroughly washing fresh produce before eating it to help reduce the risk of infection.

For many people, symptoms can be managed at home, and antibiotics are also effective, according to Winter.

He said patients with severe diarrhea should let their doctor know about their symptoms because many routine stool tests do not automatically screen for cyclospora.

“Most stool tests in laboratories don’t look for this. So you want to be sure and tell your doctor, I’ve got this, quote, explosive diarrhea. I’m cramping, I feel like hell, I have all this fatigue,” Winter said.

While the infection is uncommon, Winter said it can be especially difficult for those who become sick.

“It’s rare, but boy when you get it, it is tough,” Winter said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.

The family of a man killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Texas has called for an investigation into the incident.

The appeal on Wednesday came a day after the ICE agent fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston during a traffic stop, the most recent high-profile killing by immigration enforcement agents amid the administration of US President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive.

Salgado Araujo’s family said he was working at the time he was killed, driving a crew to a home build in the area. They said he may have been scared that the individuals in the unmarked vehicles that stopped him were trying to steal his tools.

They further said the Mexican national had lived in the US for 35 years and was working towards getting legal status. He had no criminal record and worked tirelessly to support his three US sons, all US citizens.

“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of ‘Mexican man shot and killed by ICE’,” son Ronaldo Salgado said during a news conference.

“He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” he said.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said Salgado Araujo attempted to ram an ICE agent, who opened fire in response. Prior to that, they said Salgado Araujo’s car had struck an ICE vehicle.

No video or images of the incident have been released, although a bystander recorded its aftermath.

DHS said Salgado Araujo had been targeted by the agents because he was living in the US without documentation.

While the Trump administration had initially said it would only target criminals in its mass deportation push, it quickly said that it considered anyone in the US without documentation a criminal. Irregularly entering the US is a civil, not a criminal, violation.

Rights groups have accused immigration agents of using “dragnet” techniques under pressure to meet detainment quotas. The Trump administration has denied such quotas exist.

Speaking at the news conference on Wednesday, League of United Latin American Citizens President Roman Palomares said the immigration crackdown has created a country where it is “open season on Latinos” by officers who think they can “shoot and explain later”.

The initial details of the Texas killing resemble the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota in January. DHS officials initially said that Good, a US citizen, was attempting to ram an ICE agent when she was fatally shot, although video appeared to show her steering around the agent, who opened fire after stepping to the side of her vehicle.

Just days later, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer as he sought to document immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis.

Little has emerged from federal probes into the killings, which came amid an enforcement surge in the city. In a rare move, the Department of Justice declined a separate civil-rights probe into Nicole Good’s killing.

‘Working to give us the American dream’

Speaking at the news conference on Wednesday, Ronaldo Salgado recounted frantically looking for his father at his job site after his mother had been told something bad had happened.

At some point during the search, he was shown the video of his fatally wounded father.

“I recognised him, not from his appearance but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street,” Salgado said.

“After nearly 35 years of working to give us the American dream, he made the choice to begin the process of obtaining his American dream through a work permit,” Salgado said.

“We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, and attended every appointment. He was close to obtaining his legal status.”

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum also condemned the killing, saying she was considering legal measures or an appeal to the United Nations.

“There has been another tragic death of one of our compatriots in the United States due to detention issues, even though their only ‘offence’ is not yet having proper documentation,” Sheinbaum said.

The shooting was at least the eighth known death during an encounter with federal immigration officers since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Dallas weather: July 8 morning forecast

High pressure starts to build back into North Texas, which lowers our rain chances and brings triple digit temperatures to parts of the region. Expect partly to mostly sunny skies today, with highs near 100.

DALLAS – A building system of high pressure is bringing triple-digit temperatures back to North Texas, though the intense heat will be short-lived before a weekend weather shift brings relief and renewed chances of rain.

Wednesday forecast

We expect partly to mostly sunny skies Wednesday, with high temperatures reaching near 100 degrees across much of the region. While hot and dry conditions will dominate, a low chance of scattered rain showers remains possible, primarily in areas east of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The heat is expected to solidify Thursday as the upper-level ridge settles firmly over the area. We have removed all chances of precipitation from Thursday’s forecast, locking in dry conditions and an afternoon high temperature of 100 degrees.

However, relief is on the horizon for the upcoming weekend. The high-pressure ridge will lose its grip on North Texas as it begins to shift westward toward the desert southwest.

Weekend forecast

By late Saturday and continuing into Sunday, the atmospheric shift will establish a northerly flow aloft. This pattern change is expected to funnel a series of weather disturbances into the region, triggering a return of widespread rain and thunderstorm opportunities.

The unsettled weather pattern is forecast to linger well into next week. The persistent cloud cover and moisture associated with the continuing rain chances will successfully suppress the heat, keeping afternoon highs closer to historical norms for this time of year.

7-Day forecast