Cyclospora Outbreak Widens to 20 States

The outbreak caused by parasites found in iceberg lettuce has been confirmed in three more states—widening the scope to 20 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Aug. 27.

The majority of the cases were traced to lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, a plant in central Mexico. The lettuce was contaminated with the cyclospora parasite, according to the CDC.

Since Aug. 20, state and local health officials have interviewed more sick people with cyclosporiasis, the illness caused by the parasite.

The CDC added the new reports to the multistate outbreak of people who had reported eating iceberg lettuce processed at Taylor Farms’ Mexico plant and at Taco Bell.

Most of the illnesses started before the Taylor Farms lettuce was recalled on July 17, the CDC said.

The total case count associated with the outbreak has now reached 11,458 and covers 20 states, according to the CDC’s latest count.

The states added are Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.

Illnesses began on June 14 and have continued through Aug. 15.

The states with the most cases are Michigan with 4,846, Ohio with 2,679, and Missouri with 1,010.

At least 495 people overall have been hospitalized, and two people in Michigan have died.

“The true number of sick people in this multi-state 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.

Some people recover without seeking medical care and are not tested for the parasite, the statement said. Also, recent illnesses may not yet have been recorded because it can take about six weeks to determine if a person is part of a cyclospora outbreak.

Public health investigators are taking steps to perform genotyping on parasite samples from sick people, hoping to determine which illnesses may be part of this specific outbreak, according to the CDC.

This helps trace an illness back to its source and guide the agency to take other actions to stop more illnesses.

Taylor Farms de Mexico of Guanajuato, Mexico, voluntarily removed all iceberg lettuce sourced from its plant. The company said it was working with experts to conduct a comprehensive review of its food safety processes and protocols at the location and had temporarily suspended production at the site.

The CDC noted in its statement that some states may have different illness counts on their websites “as they may also include probable illnesses or update their websites at different frequencies.”