CDC Reports Over 4,000 Cyclosporiasis Cases in U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed over 4,173 cases of cyclosporiasis across 41 states since May 1. The outbreak, linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms in central Mexico and served at some Taco Bell restaurants, has resulted in 308 hospitalizations but no deaths.

The number of confirmed cases has surpassed the 3,955 cyclosporiasis cases reported throughout all of 2025. The outbreak has expanded to nine states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Kansas. According to multiple reports, the CDC anticipates that case counts will continue to rise due to a six-week reporting lag.

Michigan is facing significant challenges in managing the outbreak due to federal funding cuts and staff shortages. The state has reported over 9,680 cases, with Ingham County alone reporting about 700 cases. Michigan's health department has had to pull in additional staff from other areas to handle the caseload.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially reported that a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce provided by Taylor Farms had tested positive for the parasite causing cyclosporiasis but later determined it was a false positive. Despite this, Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce from central Mexico.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, stated that the outbreak is 'under control,' citing extensive epidemiological forensics that have identified the source of the outbreak and implemented recalls. However, Mexican Secretary of Health David Kershenobich disputed these findings, stating there was no evidence that the outbreak began in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Symptoms of cyclosporiasis include sudden watery diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, severe stomach cramps, loss of appetite, and fatigue. It can take up to two weeks after eating contaminated food for symptoms to appear. The CDC cautioned that the true number of people sick with cyclosporiasis is likely higher than reported, as some individuals recover without medical care and are not tested.

Food safety leaders across the U.S. are raising alarms over federal cuts they say have made it harder to detect and stop the spread of foodborne illnesses. The Trump administration has slashed billions of dollars in public health funding and fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies, including curtailing the CDC's FoodNet program.

Critics argue that these cuts elevate the risk that future outbreaks will be harder to identify and stop. The FDA has not met its mandated targets for domestic and foreign inspections since 2018, with food safety inspections plummeting from 10,641 facilities in 2011 to about 4,500 a decade later.

State health departments are already overburdened from federal funding cuts and staffing shortages. In Michigan, the health department has had to pull staff from other programs to handle the caseload, including a recent measles outbreak that sickened seven people. The state's chief medical executive warned that the consequences of an underfunded public health system are already being felt.