Figure 1.

Life cycle of Cyclospora cayetanensis. Unsporulated, non-infective oocysts are passed in the feces (1). In the environment (2), sporulation occurs after days or weeks at temperatures between 22 °C to 32 °C, resulting in the division of the sporont into two sporocysts, each containing two elongated sporozoites (3). The sporulated oocysts can contaminate fresh produce and water (4) images, which are then ingested (5). The oocysts excyst in the gastrointestinal tract, freeing the sporozoites, which invade the epithelial cells of the small intestine (6). Inside the cells, they undergo asexual multiplication into Type I and Type II meronts. Merozoites from Type I meronts perpetuate the asexual cycle, while merozoites from Type II meronts undergo sexual development into macrogametocytes and microgametocytes upon invasion of another host cell. Fertilization occurs, and the zygote develops to an oocyst, which is released from the host cell and shed in the stool (7). Figure courtesy of the CDC-DPDx.