Massive Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Expands Across 9 U.S. States With Over 11,500 Cases

Scale of the Outbreak

The CDC has identified more than 11,500 cases of domestic cyclosporiasis this season; 4,173 cases are confirmed, and about 7,400 others are undergoing further investigation. Ohio has reported at least 2,574 cases, Indiana has reported 710 cases, Illinois has reported 513 cases, Kentucky has reported 468 cases, Kansas has reported 289 cases, West Virginia has reported 226 cases, Oklahoma has reported 172 cases, and Pennsylvania has reported 48 cases.

Source Identification and Recall

The number of cases linked to lettuce served at Taco Bell is now 1,947, including at least 98 people who had to be hospitalized. FDA officials remain focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of the multistate outbreak, and the company announced it was recalling iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico. On Thursday, the FDA announced it was investigating a separate outbreak of cyclospora reported in 72 people, though regulators had not yet identified the products linked to these illnesses.

Symptoms and Spread

Symptoms, which usually appear within a week or two of exposure, include watery diarrhea, sometimes frequent, along with cramping, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue and low-grade fever. Health officials emphasized that it doesn't spread from one person to another.

Investigative Challenges

Health officials are racing to trace the details of cases in an ongoing investigation, but the parasite is notoriously difficult to find; testing produce can be challenging, and people who are sick may be asked to remember what they ate weeks earlier to help identify a common thread. The true number of sick people in this multistate outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses.