Cyclospora Outbreak Tied to Taco Bell Lettuce Sickens More Than 1,600 Across the U.S.
Federal health officials say shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico is the likely source of a parasite outbreak that has hospitalized 94 people, even after one lab test came back a false positive.
A nationwide outbreak of the intestinal parasite Cyclospora has sickened at least 1,644 people across five states and sent 94 to the hospital, federal health officials said, with the trail leading back to shredded iceberg lettuce served at some Taco Bell restaurants. No deaths have been reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration say epidemiologic and traceback data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico. On July 17, the company recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, and the FDA said its investigation remains focused there even after a wrinkle that briefly muddied the case.
That wrinkle was a laboratory result. A sample of Taylor Farms de Mexico iceberg lettuce had initially tested positive for the Cyclospora parasite, but the agency later said the result was a false positive and retracted it. Health officials stressed that the retraction does not clear the product: they say they still have "very strong" evidence, drawn from where sick customers ate and how the lettuce moved through the supply chain, that the shredded iceberg is the likely culprit.
Cyclospora causes cyclosporiasis, an illness marked by watery diarrhea, cramping, nausea, fatigue and weight loss that can drag on for weeks and, without treatment, relapse. Unlike bacteria such as E. coli, the single-celled parasite is spread through food or water contaminated with feces and is not passed directly from person to person. It is typically treated with antibiotics, and the elderly and immunocompromised are at greatest risk of severe illness.
The reported cases stretch back further than many outbreaks. According to the CDC, illnesses began on dates ranging from May 13 to July 13, a nearly two-month window that suggests contaminated product circulated for some time before investigators pinned down a common thread. Because many people with mild symptoms never get tested, officials cautioned that the true number of infections is almost certainly higher than the confirmed count.
Taylor Farms, one of North America's largest suppliers of packaged salads and fresh-cut produce, said it is cooperating with regulators and has pulled the implicated lettuce from the market. The FDA urged restaurants and consumers to check for and discard any recalled product, and advised anyone with prolonged diarrheal illness who ate at the affected locations to see a doctor and mention possible Cyclospora exposure so they can be properly tested and treated. Because standard stool tests do not always screen for the parasite unless specifically requested, officials said clinicians should keep cyclosporiasis in mind when patients report weeks of watery diarrhea that will not resolve on its own.
Originally reported by CNN.