The case count for the cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to Taylor Farms shredded lettuce has jumped 18% in a week, with nine states now reporting illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
The number of people reported as having been infected with the cyclospora parasite is now 1,947, up from 1,644 a week ago. All reported exposure to Taco Bell, CDC said.
The five states where cases were reported previously are Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. CDC said the new states that are part of the outbreak are Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
Taylor Farms initiated a recall of the iceberg lettuce July 17. “Epidemiologic and traceback data continue to show that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico was contaminated with Cyclospora and has made people sick,” CDC's July 24 update said. "Do not eat recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico. If you purchased recalled lettuce, throw it out return it.”
Ninety-eight people have been hospitalized, but none have died, from eating the contaminated lettuce, according to the CDC.
CDC also said it is “investigating other outbreaks and illnesses of cyclosporiasis nationally” unrelated to this outbreak.
Nationwide, CDC has received reports of 4,173 laboratory-confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1. It also “is aware of more than 7,400 additional cases that are not yet laboratory-confirmed and require further investigation and analysis. Many of the additional cases have been reported by Michigan and Ohio.”
"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," CDC said. "This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for cyclospora.
Cases reported to states, not the CDC, may result in higher counts because states include both probable and confirmed cases, the agency said.
The latest weekly table of cyclosporiasis cases from the Nationally Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, which tracks cases reported in the U.S., shows 7,909 cases nationwide, up from 1,965 at the same time a year ago.
North Carolina’s state veterinarian, Carl Williams, said in an interview with NC Health News on Monday that cases in that state may involve more than one source. The state’s health department said July 20 that 561 cases of cyclosporiasis had been reported since May 1.
"Our thought is that it's likely, maybe probable, that there are multiple vehicles for cyclospora,” he said. “It's not a single source or a single food product from a single company. There are certain foods that we believe are implicated based on the frequency with which they appear during our interviews. But it's likely more than one."
Williams added that cilantro and parsley “do stick out most frequently when we ask people about what they have eaten,” he said.
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