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Many people have experienced diarrhoea.
So when it hit Nick Palmiter at the beginning of July, he didn't think much of it.
"I'll be alright," he said to himself.
But symptoms persisted. And as days turned into weeks, the stomach cramps unbearable.
"I was absolutely in pain," Palmiter said. "And it was just to the point to where I was probably using the bathroom at least 15 to 20 times a day."
The 29-year-old described the sensation as a constant pressure and bubbling, "almost like you have a balloon in your stomach".
At the urging of a coworker, he finally visited an urgent care facility and, upon arrival, was told that he immediately needed to go to an emergency room.
It was at the hospital that Palmiter learned he had cyclosporiasis, the intestinal illness that continues to spread across the US, infecting thousands of people in 41 states - the largest recorded outbreak in US history.
Michigan has seen the most cases nationwide (over 7,000). And in Monroe County, a rural patch of land on the state's eastern boundary, where Palmiter lives, documented cases are among the highest.
"It makes you feel absolutely sick," Palmiter said about his experience. "Like you have nothing left to give."
The county has a population of roughly 154,000. According to state figures, external, 286 people there have been infected by cyclosporiasis - which comes from ingesting the cyclospora parasite, and includes symptoms like "explosive diarrhoea".
The outsized impact in this small community has caused a major rippling effect.
"Anxiety" and "scared" were the words Palmiter used to describe the mood locally.
His mother, Michelle Palmiter, said similarly.
"I'm seeing a lot of people that are freaking out about it," she said.
That includes her niece who has cleared the entire fridge of any produce, tossing it all into the rubbish, including what Michelle saw as a perfectly good watermelon.
"Instead of doing a good scrub and then cutting it up, she's just throwing it out," Michelle said.
Chat boards on social media for Monroe County residents show that others are going to similar lengths, reflected in comments like the one left by a mother who said she has "a whole toddler living off chicken nuggets and Goldfish [crackers] ever since this started".
Michelle is still eating fruits and vegetables, but only ones she cooks. "Definitely not going out to eat at all," she said.
Part of what's causing the "panic for people", she says, is how the government has fumbled its response to the outbreak.
"We're not trusting anything they're putting out about it."
English (US) ·