Parasite outbreak linked to shredded lettuce sickens people in nine US states

The US FDA and the CDC are widening their investigation into a cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to shredded ‌iceberg lettuce from central Mexico after identifying cases in four additional states.

This outbreak now includes cases from nine states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, the FDA said on Friday, according to Reuters.

Taylor Farms has temporarily shut down the Central Mexico processing facility that US health officials have linked to an ongoing multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The facility produces 5-pound bags of shredded iceberg lettuce sold to Taco Bell, Sysco and other large food distributors that Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled on July 17, the Reuters report adds.

According to the Wall Street Journal, many people are reconsidering their Caesar salad lunches and berry breakfasts as cases of cyclosporiasis, the explosive-diarrhoea illness, continue to rise in the US.

Reuters