The number of confirmed cyclosporiasis infections in the United States has topped 17,000, marking the largest outbreak of the parasitic illness ever recorded in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 17,180 laboratory-confirmed cases across 48 states plus Washington, D.C., as of Aug. 24, an increase of 1,464 from the prior week. While the numbers are still climbing, health officials note the pace has slowed considerably — earlier weeks saw jumps of 2,000 to 3,000 cases.
The outbreak has claimed two lives and sent 922 people to hospitals, including 94 new hospitalizations since last week, according to the CDC. New Mexico became the latest state added to the federal list, leaving only Delaware and Hawaii without confirmed cases. Yet the true toll is likely higher: more than 11,800 additional infections have not been laboratory confirmed, and the CDC’s tracking lags about six weeks behind state reports because of verification processes.
Michigan remains at the epicenter, with 14,277 cases reported as of Aug. 20, up from 13,909 the week before. The state health department has said the pace of new cases and emergency room visits is slowing, and residents have been told they can safely resume eating lettuce. Some experts, however, urge caution in the produce aisle while federal investigators continue to chase down at least six other cyclospora clusters with no identified source.
The largest cluster, centered in Michigan, has been linked to iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico and processed by Taylor Farms, according to the Food and Drug Administration. That outbreak, first detected through traceback from Taco Bell, has accounted for 10,930 cases and 454 hospitalizations across 17 states, along with both reported deaths. The CDC says it is unlikely a single common cause is behind all the outbreaks nationwide.
Cyclospora cayetanensis, the parasite responsible, causes gastrointestinal distress including watery, frequent and sometimes explosive diarrhea that can come and go. Most infections occur in spring and summer, and this year’s season has dwarfed previous ones — only 1,180 cases were reported during the same period in 2025. The illness is not usually fatal, but it can be severe for those with weakened immune systems.
The federal response has been hampered by cuts to food-safety tracking, according to epidemiologists. Last year, the Trump administration removed reporting requirements for cyclospora and several other pathogens under the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, also known as FoodNet. States are now only required to report salmonella and E. coli, a change that took effect July 1, 2025. Becky Smullin Dawson, an epidemiologist at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, told MedPage Today that the system is failing to keep up: “We’re weeks and weeks and weeks behind, which is unheard of pre-Trump administration.”
Dawson noted that the public health community is leaning heavily on data from the Michigan Department of Health because federal coordination is lacking. “We don’t have enough capacity as a public health food safety community to even figure out the answers to the questions that we want answers to,” she said. She also pointed out that this year’s cases are more than an order of magnitude greater than the annual averages of 446 to 717 cases seen in recent years.
Taylor Farms has faced sharp criticism beyond the outbreak. In late July, California Rep. Robert Garcia, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote to CEO Bruce Taylor alleging the company tried to obstruct the FDA’s investigation and mislead the public. The letter cited political donations, including more than $2 million to PACs tied to President Donald Trump. Taylor Farms denied the allegations, saying it “categorically rejects any suggestion that the company has attempted or received favorable regulatory treatment.”
The company also clashed with the FDA over a since-deleted social media post claiming the agency had apologized for a “false positive” test result. The FDA fired back, saying the lab finding “DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation.” A White House source told USA TODAY that Taylor Farms’ misleading statements were “actively aggravating administration officials.” Taylor Farms said negative samples do not prove absence of the pathogen, and it has voluntarily suspended all iceberg lettuce sourcing from central Mexico.
