CDC to Form Formal Response Team as Cyclospora Outbreak Affects Nearly 23,000 Americans

The United States is confronting a Cyclospora outbreak that has infected roughly 23,000 people across 47 states since June, with two fatalities reported in Michigan. Federal officials said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will create a formal response team later this week, and the Department of Health and Human Services expects to update outbreak information on its websites shortly.

Michigan, one of the hardest-hit states, has recorded more than 12,000 cases and the two deaths, which occurred in patients with significant underlying health conditions. The state's health department linked its cases to those in eight other states, and the Food and Drug Administration’s traceback investigation identified shredded iceberg lettuce grown in Mexico and distributed by Taylor Farms as a source in the initial nine-state cluster.

The CDC has now added six additional states—Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina—to the list of locations with linked cases. However, the CDC and FDA outbreak pages have not yet reflected these updates.

Taylor Farms, which supplied the implicated lettuce, has faced criticism for limited disclosure about the recall, including the amount of product involved and distribution details. The company previously disputed a positive test result for Cyclospora that the FDA later retracted, and it has not commented on a reported $1 million donation to a political action committee supporting the administration.

International health authorities note a rise in Cyclospora cases among travelers returning from Mexico, supporting the connection to Mexican-grown lettuce. The CDC’s latest surveillance data shows 10,468 laboratory-confirmed cases and more than 12,255 probable cases, compared with the typical annual range of 2,000 to 5,000 since 2018.