More than 15,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported across the United States this year, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Federal and state health authorities are investigating several clusters of cyclosporiasis—the gastrointestinal illness caused by the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora—to determine how many could be linked to a common contaminated source.
The largest outbreak, affecting 17 states so far, has been traced to lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms. This year is already the nation’s worst year for reported cases of cyclosporiasis, with illnesses reported in 47 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the CDC said. Last year, 1,180 cases were reported in the U.S. between May 1 and August 31.
In its latest update, the CDC said as of August 18, it has received reports of 15,716 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis acquired in the U.S. since May 1. At least 828 patients have been hospitalized, and two deaths have been reported. The patients range in age from one to 99 years, and a majority (57 percent) were female, according to the CDC.
The CDC said it is aware of at least 11,841 additional cases that have not been laboratory-confirmed or require further investigation to determine if they were acquired domestically. Newsweek has contacted Taylor Farms and Taco Bell for further comment via email and is awaiting responses. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said last week that 17 states were affected by the largest cyclospora outbreak, which officials have linked to iceberg lettuce.
Maine and Massachusetts were added to the list of states that already included: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The FDA has linked shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell to the outbreak, and said it is focused on produce giant Taylor Farms as the source of that lettuce. The company in July recalled iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.
As of August 13, the number of illnesses linked to the lettuce was 9,481, including at least 398 people who had to be hospitalized. In its most recent update, the FDA said it is confident that all recalled lettuce related to the outbreak is now off the market. FDA "will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak," the agency said.
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