August 5, 2026 / 8:01 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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Cyclospora cases in 15 states have been linked to iceberg lettuce, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, adding six states with cases tied to the ongoing outbreak.The parasite has been reported in at least 47 states total this year, and investigators have continued to probe how many could be linked to a common contaminated source.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of states tied to the deadly outbreak had grown from nine to 15. Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina were added to a list that included Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.Investigators initially narrowed in on the lettuce served at Taco Bell. Federal officials subsequently said they are focused on Taylor Farms as the source of the lettuce in the outbreak, and the company has recalled iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.Confusion was sparked last month when the Food and Drug Administration announced that a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms that had tested positive for cyclospora was a false positive. But the FDA clarified the next day that the investigation and evidence "continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico.""I don't think we can say that this is under control yet," Dr. Ulysses Wu, the chief epidemiologist for Hartford HealthCare, told CBS News last month. "Even if this lettuce was implicated, it doesn't mean that other produce is not implicated as well." The CDC previously said it can take as long as six weeks for federal and state officials to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak. There are several reasons cyclospora outbreaks can be hard to investigate and contain, said Dr. Juan Luis Marquez, medical director of the Washtenaw County and Livingston County health departments in Michigan.
