Ohio Woman Says Salad Gave Her 'Violent Diarrhea' Amid Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

An Ohio woman says she became "deathly ill" with "violent diarrhea" just hours after having a bite of a salad at a local restaurant ... as the nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak continues to send people to the porcelain throne.

The woman, a Toledo resident, told 13 Action News she ordered a salad on June 24 ... and she sent it back because some leaves were brown ... but not before taking a small bite that was enough to do her dirty. She says within hours of trying the salad she was suffering from debilitating diarrhea.

Her symptoms became manageable enough for her to get through work, but the diarrhea came back with a vengeance ... she had "severe abdominal cramping" and couldn't hold any solid food down. She said she went over a week without eating solid food and finally went to the emergency room after 10 days of illness, where she discovered she had cyclosporiasis.

By that time, she had a urinary tract infection and elevated liver enzymes ... all as a result of the illness.

The CDC confirmed 1,645 domestically acquired cases of cyclosporiasis since May, and they're still trying to determine the source ... though previous outbreaks stemmed from fresh produce and evidence points to lettuce or salad greens as suspects.