Two residents of Michigan are dead, the first reported fatalities in what has become the largest outbreak of cyclosporiasis ever recorded in the United States. MDHHS reported 11,234 cases of the parasitic illness in Michigan since June 22, an 8 percent increase over the previous Thursday’s count of 10,386. Michigan normally records about 50 cases in an entire year, making the current caseload roughly 225 times the historical baseline. Cyclosporiasis under a microscope [Photo: CDC]The systemic character of the crisis is visible in the Food and Drug Administration’s own outbreak table. Two people in Michigan are dead of an illness a federal committee said could be prevented with soap and running water.