Cases of cyclosporiasis in four states are linked to an outbreak likely caused by iceberg lettuce, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on July 24.
Investigations linked cyclosporiasis cases in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to an ongoing outbreak that previously covered Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, the CDC said.
The total number of confirmed patients is 1,947 across the nine states. Epidemiological investigations and work tracing the sicknesses to specific foods show that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms in Mexico was contaminated with the parasite Cyclospora and made the people sick, according to the CDC.
Of the patients, 98 reported being hospitalized. No deaths have been reported as of yet.
“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,” the CDC said in a statement.
“This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Cyclospora. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported because it can take as long as 6 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of a Cyclospora outbreak. States in this outbreak may report different illness counts on their websites as they may also include probable illnesses. CDC and FDA are only reporting laboratory confirmed cases.”
Michigan officials on Thursday reported 7,664 cases, including 160 hospitalizations. The other eight states have reported nearly 4,000 cases and 57 hospitalizations.
Taco Bell has said it stopped serving the lettuce in question, and Taylor Farms recalled all iceberg lettuce it sourced from central Mexico on July 17 due to the potential contamination.
Cyclospora can contaminate produce and water that has feces in it.
The lettuce was also sold at Walmart under the name Marketside. Those packages had best-if-used-by dates of July 18 to Aug. 3 and should be discarded or returned, officials said.
