The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its investigation into a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak, adding four more states linked to contaminated produce from central Mexico as federal health officials work to trace one of the largest unknown outbreaks of the parasitic illness in the United States.The newly linked states are: Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. The four states join Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia, bringing the total number of states connected to the outbreak to nine. Investigators believe additional states will help them better construct how contaminated lettuce moved through the nation’s food supply and identify whether other restaurants, retailers, or distributors received the same product, the CDC reported Friday.
Federal investigators have traced shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in the nine states to a single supplier in Mexico. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration said the outbreak was linked to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms in Mexico. After a review, officials concluded the result was a false positive, but Taylor Farms is still working with the FDA to investigate the source of the outbreak.
