The outbreak at the center of the nation's largest known surge of the explosive diarrhea illness cyclosporiasis is over, officials say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak, linked directly to lettuce, as ended on Sept. 11, with a tally of 12,883 lab-confirmed cases across 21 states since May 1.
The CDC is still investigating several case clusters of the parasitic illness nationwide, but has only identified the source of one – iceberg lettuce grown by produce giant Taylor Farms in Mexico. At least five other outbreaks are still under investigation, according to the Food and Drug Administration's foodborne illness investigations page.
In total, 19,595 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in 49 states plus Washington,
DC, as of Sept. 11, including two deaths and 1,043 hospitalizations. Thousands of additional cases are still waiting for laboratory confirmation.
The actual number of sick is likely much higher, per the CDC, as many people recover at home without getting tested. The agency's case count also has a roughly six-week lag because of the process required to confirm and officially report an infection back to the federal level. This means states can report new cases that are not reflected in the CDC count until weeks later, and new illnesses may not be tracked until over a month after someone sees a doctor.
It also means that cases will continue to be added to the CDC's count, even as the largest outbreak is considered over.
"The number of recent infections linked to the outbreak has significantly declined," the CDC's page for the lettuce outbreak said. "The contaminated lettuce linked to this outbreak is no longer available in stores or restaurants."
Cyclosporiasis, an illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, results in unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms often associated with food poisoning, such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. It is usually contracted through contaminated food or water, and it is not generally known to be deadly; however, it can cause more serious complications in people with compromised immune systems or other underlying health issues.
An unprecedented outbreak
Federal authorities first began tracing case clusters in July, eventually identifying Taco Bell, which used shredded lettuce provided by Taylor Farms, as a common source among patients. Taylor Farms recalled multiple lettuce products on July 17.
A later FDA enforcement report showed that recalled lettuce was sold not just to eateries like Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, but to retailers like Walmart. But the origins of other illness clusters have yet to be identified, at least publicly. The source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak is harder to track than other foodborne illnesses because of a long incubation period, difficulty obtaining samples and the inability to use the same genetic tracking tools available for pathogens like E. coli and listeria. Because it is usually not fatal and not as common in the U.S., it is also less researched than other pathogens, something experts told USA TODAY they hope to see change.
The FDA sent investigators to Mexico to inspect Taylor Farm's operations in August, a move some critics and experts said was too little, too late. Critics have also pointed toward cuts to relevant health agencies, with some saying that scaled-back surveillance and limited staffing enabled not only the cyclospora spread but also other recent outbreaks like screwworm.
Last year, the CDC scaled back a decades-long federal-state partnership that monitors foodborne illnesses, including those caused by cyclospora. While Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the cuts were for "redundant" programs and called the criticism "invalid," some experts have noted that the loss of surveillance infrastructure and data could risk delaying authorities’ ability to identify the source of an outbreak and stop further transmission, USA TODAY reported.
Company at heart of lettuce-linked cluster faces scrutiny
Taylor Farms has also come under increased scrutiny, especially after some of its products were included in a jalapeño recall initiated by Coast Citrus Distributors in August, putting them at the center of a still-growing, multistate salmonella outbreak.
In late July, California Rep. Robert Garcia, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the company's CEO Bruce Taylor, alleging that Taylor Farms had tried to influence or obstruct the FDA's investigation and mislead the public. The letter also pointed to the company's recent political donations, including one allegedly made to a Trump-associated super PAC.
"In 2025 alone, Taylor Farms donated more than $2 million to political action committees tied to President Donald Trump and other Republicans and spent over $810 million on lobbying related to food safety regulation," it reads.
Taylor Farms denied the allegations, saying in a statement shared with USA TODAY, "Taylor Farms categorically rejects any suggestion that the company has attempted or received favorable regulatory treatment as a result of political contributions or any other improper influence. These allegations are false.”
The company, which has been responsible for several major recalls over the last decade, also received criticism from the FDA for a since-deleted statement in which it said the FDA "apologized" for a "false positive" when testing its iceberg lettuce products for cyclospora. The FDA issued a statement shortly after clarifying that the lab sample finding "DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms."
Taylor Farms again pointed to negative sample tests in its statement.
"When questions were raised about the source of the recent Cyclospora outbreak, we immediately removed all potentially implicated product from the marketplace, and out of an abundance of caution, we issued an even broader recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from the region," the company said in a statement. "We are confident in our food and food safety systems and will continue to be transparent as more information becomes available."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Massive cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce declared over
