SPREADING

Explosive Diarrhea Virus Expands to 9 States

Nearly 2,000 confirmed cases are linked to contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded the nation’s largest known Cyclospora outbreak to include nine extra states. Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania join Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia in an ongoing investigation involving contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce. Cyclospora infections have been reported in at least 41 states this year, but investigators are still working to determine how many are part of the nine-state outbreak linked to the lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at Taco Bell restaurants. Health officials have confirmed 1,947 illnesses tied to people who reported eating at Taco Bell, with at least 98 people hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Federal investigators have traced the lettuce to Taylor Farms, which voluntarily recalled shredded iceberg lettuce sourced and processed in central Mexico. Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic illness that causes severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including watery diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, and extreme fatigue. The CDC said illnesses in the outbreak began on June 22 and have continued through July 20. Officials stressed that not every cyclospora infection reported this year is tied to the Taco Bell outbreak.