CDC confirms cyclospora outbreak expands to nine US states
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a fourth wave of state-level infections, bringing the total number of affected jurisdictions to nine in what it describes as a massive outbreak.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that a massive cyclospora outbreak has expanded to nine states, adding Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to the list of affected jurisdictions. The announcement, published on 24 July 2026, marks a significant geographic broadening of the public health emergency.
These four new states join Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan, which had previously been identified as linked to the outbreak. Michigan remains the hardest-hit state in the cluster, according to current CDC data.
Cyclospora is a parasite that causes an intestinal illness known as cyclosporiasis. The CDC characterises the current outbreak as massive, though the agency has not yet specified the common food source or vector responsible for the infections.
The expansion of the outbreak to these additional states suggests a widespread contamination event or distribution network that has reached beyond the initial Midwestern and Appalachian regions. Public health officials are monitoring the situation closely as the number of linked states continues to rise.
As of the latest report, the exact number of confirmed cases or hospitalisations across the nine states has not been provided. The CDC continues to investigate the source of the outbreak to prevent further spread.
