Cyclospora outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce spreads to 20 states

Federal health authorities announced Thursday that a parasitic outbreak traced to recalled iceberg lettuce has now been confirmed in 20 states, marking the largest such incident on record in the United States.

The Food and Drug Administration said newly identified cases in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas bring the total number of sickened individuals to 11,458, up from roughly 10,900 reported a week earlier.

Investigators from the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state health departments have zeroed in on lettuce cultivated at a farm in central Mexico operated by Taylor Farms, a major American produce supplier. FDA staff are continuing inspections and testing at the site in coordination with Mexican authorities, and the agency expressed confidence that all recalled iceberg lettuce tied to this outbreak has been removed from the market.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects the bowels and spreads through fecal contamination. The CDC notes that the resulting illness, cyclosporiasis, commonly triggers watery diarrhea that can be frequent and explosive. Infections are most prevalent in late spring and summer, though they remain rarer than foodborne ailments caused by pathogens like salmonella or E. coli.

Earlier this week, the CDC reported roughly 29,000 confirmed or suspected cyclospora cases nationwide this year, including 922 hospitalizations. That figure dwarfs the previous worst year on record, 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported.