July 24 (Reuters) – The U.S. FDA and the CDC are widening their investigation into a cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from central Mexico after identifying cases in four additional states.
This outbreak now includes cases from nine states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, the FDA said on Friday.
A total of 1,947 people infected with the Cyclospora parasite, with exposure to Taco Bell, have been reported by the nine states, the FDA said, citing epidemiological data collected by CDC.
There have been at least 98 hospitalizations, and no reported deaths from the infection, the regulator said.
Cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in at least 41 states this year, though investigators are still working to determine how many cases are linked to the outbreak tied to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at Taco Bell restaurants.
Michigan, the hardest-hit state, reported 8,176 probable cases of the intestinal infection on Friday, up 532 from a day earlier.
On July 17, Taylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. The recall includes lettuce sold in retail stores, served in restaurants and distributed to food service customers.
The FDA urged the public to continue to avoid all products listed in Taylor Farms’ recall.
Mexico’s health ministry said on Thursday that results of its studies of lettuce and water samples from U.S. supplier Taylor Farms were negative for cyclospora, following a health inspection of the company’s plant in central Mexico earlier this week.
Taylor Farms has temporarily shut down the Central Mexico processing facility that U.S. health officials have linked to the outbreak, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole, Mariam Sunny and Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shinjini Ganguli)
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