Cyclospora outbreak may have peaked in Michigan after lettuce recall - NBC News

What the report says

NBC News reported that Michigan, the center of a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak tied in part to contaminated lettuce, is seeing indications that illnesses may be slowing. The report, published July 28 and updated July 29, said the CDC had listed more than 18,000 confirmed or suspected U.S. cases as of Tuesday. In nine states, many illnesses have been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, while other clusters, including in New York and North Carolina, have not been tied to that supplier.

Michigan health officials said more than 9,500 people in the state had become ill over the previous two months, with about 160 hospitalizations. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, told NBC News that roughly 475 recently reported cases were partly due to delayed reporting from one health system and may not represent newly occurring infections. She also cited a slowing share of emergency department visits where diarrhea was the main complaint, while cautioning that testing shortages and lab backlogs may mean milder cases are being missed.

The report noted that Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled iceberg lettuce from some Taco Bell restaurants, grocery outlets and food service suppliers more than a week earlier, but officials have not concluded that the recall alone explains the slowdown. Bagdasarian said federal agencies are responsible for tracing and testing suspected foods, and the FDA did not immediately answer NBC’s questions on the status of that work.

Experts cited by NBC said the investigation is complicated by complex food distribution networks, limited real-time genetic matching and the possibility of multiple contaminated foods. Cyclospora, a parasite associated with fecal contamination, often causes summer outbreaks in the U.S.; officials have also examined cilantro and parsley in some state clusters, without linking those outbreaks to the recalled lettuce.