The five state cyclospora outbreak has been expanded by public health officials to include four more states, for a total of nine. The CDC says that there are at least 1947 patients in those nine states. The original five states were Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The government added Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
The case count by state is: Illinois (77), Indiana (124), Kansas (9), Kentucky (46), Michigan (931), Ohio (639), Oklahoma (55), Pennsylvania (24) and West Virginia (42). Illness onset dates range from June 22, 2026 to July 20, 2026. At least 98 people have been hospitalized. This number includes people who have traveled to states involved in the outbreak in the two weeks before their illness began, and who ate at Taco Bell.
All of those 1947 people have lab confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis and exposure to Taco Bell. Epidemiological and traceback data continue to show that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico was contaminated with the cyclospora parasite and has made people sick.
For comparison, as of July 23, 2026, Michigan reports 8167 cases, and Ohio reports 2508 cases. The multiplier for Cyclospora outbreaks, used because many people do not see a doctor when they get sick and are not counted, is 83.1. That means there could be as many as 161,796 people sick just in those nine states using CDC numbers.
Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled all iceberg lettuce produced at a farm in central Mexico on July 18, 2026. It was sold from June 29, 2026 through July 16, 2026 in these states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
This outbreak will most likely continue to grow since it can take up to two weeks for a person who ate food contaminated with the microscopic parasite shows symptoms. And two weeks from July 18 is August 1.
If you have been ill with the symptoms of cyclosporiasis, see your doctor. You may be part of this cyclospora outbreak even if you don’t live in one of the states mentioned.
