---
title: The Lettuce Recall Explains Only Part of the Cyclospora Outbreak
description: The CDC has 6,707 cyclosporiasis cases since May and the recalled Taco Bell lettuce accounts for a fraction of them. What the symptoms are and what health officials advise.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-04T13:29:01.137Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/cyclospora-outbreak-lettuce-recall-source
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/leafy-greens-processing-line-99860.webp
categories: Everyday Wellness
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Rich Health Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

The national cyclospora outbreak has been tied in headlines to one culprit, recalled iceberg lettuce. That recall covers a fraction of the illnesses being tracked, and investigators have not identified what is behind the rest.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 6,707 domestically acquired cyclosporiasis cases since May 1, according to the [Washington State Department of Health](https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/illness-and-disease-z/foodborne-illness/outbreaks/2026-cyclosporiasis-outbreak). At least 1,947 of them belong to an outbreak traced to lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in nine states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Pennsylvania. After the traceback, Taylor Farms de Mexico voluntarily removed all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the US market, and the FDA says that lettuce had been distributed to 27 states between June 29 and July 16. ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory that has begun publishing cyclospora test positivity data, says the CDC had 6,707 laboratory-confirmed cases across 45 states as of July 28 and was aware of more than 11,500 further cases still being investigated.

## The Source of the Wider Outbreak Is Not Known

Cyclospora is harder to trace than bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli. Craig Hedberg, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, told the [Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cyclospora/what-we-truly-know-about-huge-us-cyclospora-outbreak-and-what-we-don-t) that the parasite cannot be grown in a laboratory, so the genetic subtyping that links cases in other outbreaks is not readily available. The CDC is relying on partial genotyping instead, and the gap of one to two weeks between exposure and the first symptoms makes it harder still to work out which meal caused an illness.

People are infected by eating food or drinking water carrying the parasite, most often while traveling to a country where it is common, and next most often from raw produce imported from one of those countries. Past US outbreaks have been traced to imported raspberries, herbs such as cilantro and basil, and leafy greens. Produce grown in the United States has rarely been found contaminated.

Hedberg's advice is not to give up fresh produce. "The vast majority of fresh produce items that people are going to encounter are not the source," he said.

## Symptoms Start About a Week After Exposure

The symptoms are prolonged watery diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal cramping, nausea and weight loss. They usually begin about a week after exposure, with a range of one to 14 days. The infection does not pass directly from one person to another, and someone who has it is unlikely to pass it on by handling food.

Washington health officials say anyone with those symptoms, above all prolonged watery diarrhea, should contact a healthcare provider and mention recent travel and what they have eaten. There are antibiotic treatments for cyclospora, Hedberg said, and they can be an important way of limiting how long the illness lasts. Seeing a doctor also feeds the investigation, because officials interview people who fall ill about where they traveled and what they ate in the two weeks beforehand. "All the information that we have to solve outbreaks comes from the people who are involved in the outbreak," Hedberg said.

## The Advice Is the Same Produce Routine as Any Other Year

Washington's health department is not seeing a suspected food source or signs of an outbreak in its own state, and its guidance is the routine it gives year round: rinse fresh fruit and vegetables under running water before eating, cutting or cooking, wash hands with soap and water before handling food, keep knives, boards and counters clean, keep fresh produce away from raw meat, poultry and seafood, and refrigerate cut produce promptly. For anyone who wants to take more care while the national investigation runs, it also lists optional steps: choosing fruit and vegetables with peels or outer leaves that can be removed, cooking fresh produce where that makes sense, or choosing canned instead of fresh.

Washington has logged 60 cases between May 1 and July 31, one hospitalization and no deaths. Of the 57 people interviewed, 40 had traveled to a country where the parasite is common, 36 of them to Mexico.

## FAQ

**Q: Is bagged lettuce safe from cyclospora?**
The recall covered iceberg lettuce that Taylor Farms de Mexico sourced from central Mexico, which the FDA says was distributed to 27 states between June 29 and July 16. The cases linked to that lettuce are a fraction of those reported nationally, and no source has been identified for the rest, so there is no single grocery item that accounts for the outbreak.

**Q: How long does it take to get sick from cyclospora?**
Symptoms usually start about a week after exposure, with a range of one to 14 days. That gap is part of why investigators struggle to trace a case back to a particular meal.

**Q: Does washing produce remove cyclospora?**
Health officials recommend rinsing fresh produce under running water as routine food safety, and the guidance in this outbreak has not changed on that point. It is not offered as a way of removing this parasite specifically, and the optional extra steps officials list are peeling, cooking or choosing canned.

**Q: What states have a cyclospora outbreak?**
ARUP Laboratories says the CDC had confirmed cases across 45 states as of July 28. The outbreak traced to lettuce served at Taco Bell has been identified in nine states, and the recalled lettuce was distributed to 27 states between late June and mid-July.