US declares largest recorded cyclosporiasis outbreak over
The outbreak linked to recalled iceberg lettuce sickened 12,883 people across 21 states, with 570 hospitalisations and two reported deaths.
US health authorities have declared the country’s largest recorded cyclosporiasis outbreak over, after contaminated iceberg lettuce was linked to 12,883 reported illnesses across 21 states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was confident recalled lettuce linked to Taylor Farms de Mexico had been removed from the market. The company recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on 17 July.
The outbreak was initially associated with lettuce served at Taco Bell locations before federal investigators traced the implicated produce to Taylor Farms, which distributes products to restaurants and retailers across the United States. Michigan recorded the highest number of cases and both reported deaths.
The CDC linked the outbreak to 570 hospitalisations and two reported deaths. Reported infections, which exceeded 1,000 in a single day at the peak, had fallen to fewer than two per day on average by August.
The outbreak formed part of a broader rise in US cyclosporiasis cases. Nearly 20,000 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported nationally since 1 May, more than 16 times the number recorded during the same period last year, although not all were necessarily connected to the lettuce outbreak.
The Food and Drug Administration said inspections and sample collection at farms and a processing facility in Mexico had been completed, but laboratory analysis remained pending. The outbreak has renewed scrutiny of food-safety inspections, disease tracking and delays to produce-traceability rules.
