MYSTERY PARASITE SICKENED 145 IN 17 STATES, CDC SAID
Cyclosporiasis cases hit 145 across 17 states, and health officials couldn’t say what was spreading the parasite.
The CDC had confirmed the 145 infections by mid-June 2026, Fox News reported on July 2, 2026. The infections were acquired in the United States.
The CDC was clear that it saw no single common thread. “There is currently no evidence of a single, multistate Cyclospora outbreak linking all cases,” the agency said in its surveillance report.
CDC, FDA and state health officials were investigating multiple clusters but had not identified a cause for the spread.
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that causes cyclosporiasis. The illness can cause watery diarrhea that may last weeks or months if untreated, the CDC said.
Other symptoms include abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue and weight loss. The CDC advised anyone with symptoms to contact a healthcare provider for testing and treatment.
What happened next
The usual cyclosporiasis season runs May 1 through August 31, and the CDC’s surveillance data covers cases with symptom onset in that window.
On September 15, 2026, the CDC reported 19,883 laboratory-confirmed U.S.-acquired cases with onset during the 2026 season. That season-wide tally is a separate count from the 145 reported in June.
The agency said thousands more laboratory-confirmed cases needed further investigation to determine whether they were acquired in the United States or during travel. It also knew of at least 6,594 additional cases that were not laboratory-confirmed or were awaiting patient interviews or submission to the CDC.
The CDC said it would stop updating its surveillance page weekly starting September 15 because recent infections had significantly declined. It planned periodic updates instead.
One big outbreak did get a culprit. The FDA said the CDC and FDA investigated multiple Cyclospora outbreaks from May through September 2026. One of them involved iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms de Mexico.
Food Safety Magazine reported that the lettuce-linked outbreak ended with 12,883 illnesses across 21 states and two deaths.
The CDC declared that outbreak over on September 11, 2026. “At this time, there is no risk of people getting sick with cyclosporiasis from this source,” the CDC said in a statement.
Taylor Farms has also been in the news elsewhere. An Ohio man has sued Taco Bell and Taylor Farms after he was hospitalized with explosive diarrhea.
The lettuce outbreak was not the only one. Food Safety Magazine reported that the FDA was investigating four other Cyclospora outbreaks and had not identified a vehicle of illness for any of them.
The FDA said it would keep working with federal, state and international partners on the other Cyclospora investigations.
On the lettuce outbreak, the FDA said it released final sample results from inspections in Mexico and closed its investigation on October 2, 2026.
