{"id":2634,"date":"2026-07-14T20:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2026-07-14T20:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:04:22","slug":"as-cyclospora-illnesses-surge-to-a-record-michigan-officials-eye-lettuce-as-a-possible-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2634","title":{"rendered":"As cyclospora illnesses surge to a record, Michigan officials eye lettuce as a possible cause"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Infections from the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora are surging, with state-level data suggesting that 2026 is already the nation\u2019s worst year for reported cases.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Health officials have not yet definitively identified what is causing\u00a0the infections. On Tuesday, federal health officials said there may be different infection patterns in different places, although they believe cases in at least four states \u2014 Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia \u2014 are linked.<\/p>\n

Michigan officials blame lettuce<\/h4>\n

In Michigan \u2014 where more than 3,300 cases have been reported \u2014 officials say early information points to lettuce or salad greens as a possible culprit.<\/p>\n

After conducting more than 1,000 interviews with patients, \u201cearly information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation,\u201d said Natasha Bagdasarian, the Michigan health department\u2019s chief medical executive.<\/p>\n

Because of that commonality and because produce has been behind some past cyclospora outbreaks, Michigan officials advised consumers to buy whole heads of lettuce, discard the outer layers and\u00a0thoroughly wash\u00a0what is left. They also suggested people avoid bagged lettuce and pre-mixed salad kits.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Taco Bell restaurant chain issued a statement saying it had \u201cvoluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of public health authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In a call with reporters on Tuesday, federal health officials did not directly respond to a question about whether they are looking at Taco Bell or any specific food vendor or distributor.<\/p>\n

\u201cFDA certainly is continuing its traceback investigation on multiple produce items, also including locations that are reported by the case patients before they became sick,\u201d said Donald Prater, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration\u2019s Acting Deputy Commissioner for Food, in response.<\/p>\n

Cyclospora causes \u2018explosive\u2019 diarrhea<\/h4>\n

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea \u201cwith frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,\u201d according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u00a0Outbreaks\u00a0tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.<\/p>\n

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or\u00a0vegetables\u00a0that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n

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Experts say it\u2019s likely that cyclospora cases historically were underreported, in part because some common tests used to check for food poisoning have not been geared to detect cyclospora. They attribute the increasing trend in cases to climate change and better detection.<\/p>\n

2019 was the worst year for infections<\/h4>\n

The worst year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported, according to federal data on confirmed and suspected cases.<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps those numbers, but they traditionally lag what is posted by individual city and state health departments dealing with local outbreaks in real time. On Tuesday, CDC officials issued a\u00a0health alert\u00a0that said that since May 1, the agency is aware of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases and more than 5,100 that require further analysis to confirm whether the infections were acquired in the U.S. The reports come from 34 states, and no deaths have been reported, the CDC said.<\/p>\n

The true number of cases is likely larger than what has been reported so far because some people may have milder illnesses that they don\u2019t seek care for, said Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of CDC\u2019s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, in the call with reporters.<\/p>\n

It can take days to weeks for someone exposed to the parasite to develop symptoms. It\u2019s not clear to what extent people currently are being infected, or whether many of the exposures happened earlier. But Biggerstaff said official expect that case numbers will continue to grow through August.<\/p>\n

The CDC also posted\u00a0information\u00a0about the investigation of an outbreak affecting the four states.<\/p>\n

The federal alert did not detail how many reports came from each state. But Michigan officials have reported more than 3,300 cases, officials in northwest Ohio said they have seen more than 1,100, New York City officials counted more than 400 and Illinois reported more than 200.<\/p>\n

Officials do not think all can be tied to a common source. In Illinois, for example, more than half the people with infections said they had traveled outside the United States, and at least some may have been infected elsewhere.<\/p>\n

But Michigan officials believe a large share of their total is likely due to a linked domestic outbreak. CDC officials did not go into detail about why they currently think cases in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia are part of the same outbreak.<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporter Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more E. Jean Carroll is paid $5.6M in Trump sex abuse and defamation case<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Infections from the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora are surging, with 2026 already the nation’s worst year for reported cases. 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