As cyclospora illnesses surge to a record, Michigan officials eye lettuce as a possible cause
Officials say more than 1,000 interviews have been completed as investigators trace the source and warn other foods are not fully ruled out.
- On Monday, Michigan health officials, including chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, announced they are investigating a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened 2,640 people, with early evidence pointing to lettuce or salad greens as the potential source.
- Complex food distribution networks and the parasite's long incubation period, which can take up to two weeks to develop, complicate the investigation, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday.
- To reduce infection risk, MDHHS recommends consumers purchase whole heads of lettuce instead of pre-washed kits and discard the outer two to three layers of leaves during preparation.
- Even as the outbreak has spread across 31 states and 55 counties, tracking by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remains limited by 2025 regulatory changes implemented by the Trump Administration.
- Patients with symptoms like frequent, watery diarrhea should request specific testing for cyclospora, which is treated with antibiotics, according to health experts.
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147 Articles
Parasite Outbreak Hits Hard: Why Cyclospora Cases Exploded This Summer
Explosive diarrhea. That’s the phrase many now associate with a microscopic parasite surging across the U.S. this season. Health officials confirm over 1,645 lab-verified infections since May. They track more than 5,100 additional cases still under review. Michigan alone reports 2,640 patients. Hospitals have admitted 141 people. No fatalities so far. But the toll feels heavy. The Scale of the Current Outbreak Reports flow in from 34 states. Clu…
Some U.S. officials blame this salad green for cyclospora outbreak
More than 30 states have reported infections this year, and current data from them shows the number of infections surpassing the record U.S. mark of about 4,700 set in 2019. The illness is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics.
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