Your Health Today
Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Iceberg Lettuce Is Officially Over, CDC Says
The nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce is over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak was linked to iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms de Mexico. It spread to 21 states, killed two people, and sickened more than 12,000 others, making it the largest cyclospora outbreak ever recorded in the U.S.
Dr. Jennifer Layden, associate dean and professor at the Bursky School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, said the CDC is confident the outbreak has run its course. "They know that the product is now off the shelf, the associated or the implicated product," she said. "And then second, it's been the cases have dramatically decreased."
People infected with cyclospora typically dealt with severe stomach issues. "The big symptoms are abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting," said Dr. Dhaval Desai, a pediatric physician and internal medicine doctor. "We are hearing this explosive diarrhea, but think diarrhea, that's multiple episodes per day, not going away, associated with cramping."
Though the CDC says the public health threat has passed, Layden said people should still take basic food safety precautions. "Washing it, washing your hands is really important before and after working with food," she said. "Keeping it stored at the right temperature, when appropriate, cooking it, not letting it sit on your shelves longer than the expiration date."
The FDA is still investigating what caused the outbreak. "There's still an important effort to continue to investigate to really get to the root cause of what caused it," Layden said. "The purpose of them continuing to investigate it is so that they can find that out, and then implement strategies to prevent future outbreaks."
By: NBC Palm Springs
September 14, 2026
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