The cyclospora outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce has now reached nine states, as health officials work through what the CDC says is part of the largest reported outbreak of its kind in US history. The cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce from central Mexico has produced cases in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, alongside earlier reports in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
Federal health officials said on Friday that the count tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has climbed to more than 11,000 cases nationwide since mid-May, spread across 41 states. Michigan has been hit hardest, with state health officials saying the number of infections there has risen to more than 8,100. People who have become sick described the illness to the BBC in stark terms, calling it the most painful experience they had ever faced.
Cyclospora is a parasite that causes cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness known for severe diarrhea. Officials said the outbreak is not a single, simple event, noting that there are multiple US outbreaks likely tied to different sources. That makes the investigation harder and raises the chance that the lettuce-linked cases are only part of a broader public health picture.
In its latest update, the CDC told consumers not to eat recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms that was sourced from central Mexico. Taylor Farms, a major US food supplier, pulled all of its iceberg lettuce from that region on July 17, saying it acted out of an abundance of caution.
The Food and Drug Administration added another twist over the weekend when investigators announced that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms had tested positive for cyclospora, then later said that result had been a false positive. That kind of reversal underscores how difficult these cases can be to pin down in real time, especially when the illness may not show up until weeks after exposure.
