The iceberg lettuce cyclospora outbreak has ended with 12,883 people sick in 21 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Five hundred seventy people have been hospitalized because they were so sick. And two people who lived in Michigan died.
The case count by state is: Georgia (3), North Carolina (3), Tennessee (7), Virginia (12), Massachusetts (18), Texas (24), Maine (26), New Hampshire (43), Arkansas (87), Iowa (138), West Virginia (170), Nebraska (207), Oklahoma (269), Pennsylvania (271), Illinois (292), Kentucky (366), Kansas (383), Indiana (870), Missouri (1,071), Ohio (2,871), and Michigan (5,762). One state, Virginia, has been added to the number of states involved in this outbreak.
The numbers the states reported were quite different. For instance, Ohio claims 3,417 illnesses and Michigan reports 14,718 patients with 366 hospitalized. The CDC and FDA only reported laboratory confirmed cases.
The CDC says the outbreak is over because the number of reported infections has significantly declined, and because the lettuce is no longer available. Iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, a Taylor Farms central Mexico-based processor, was contaminated with cyclospora and made people sick. Many of these patients ate that lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants.
The CDC is not going to update this outbreak after today. The season for cyclospora has also ended; it usually runs from May 31 to August 31. Many of these illnesses began before Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled their iceberg lettuce on July 17, 2026. Illness onset dates range from June 14, 2026 to August 17, 2026. These cases also include patients who traveled to one of these 21 stets but live in different states.
The multiplier for cyclospora outbreaks is 83.1 because most people who contract this parasitic infection do not see a doctor and therefore are not counted. That means there could be as many as 1,070,577 people sick just in this outbreak.
The FDA is still investigating how the product linked to this outbreak was contaminated. That agency may post updates while the investigation continues.
