- Two deaths in Michigan are the first fatalities in the largest U.S. cyclosporiasis outbreak, as a nationwide surge in the parasite tops 18,000 cases across at least 45 states, including a nine-state cluster.
- The CDC linked cases to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, a Taco Bell supplier that has issued a recall.
- Michigan alone reports 11,234 cases, although CDC lab-confirmed cases total 6,707, with the true count likely higher.
- Cyclospora causes severe diarrhea and dehydration, and washing produce does not remove the parasite.
- Regulators took eleven weeks to identify the source, leaving consumers exposed to contaminated lettuce without any warning.
The largest cyclosporiasis outbreak in U.S. history has claimed its first two lives, both in Michigan, as federal health officials point to shredded iceberg lettuce from a Mexican supplier served at Taco Bell restaurants.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that two individuals with significant underlying health conditions died after contracting the diarrhea-inducing parasite. The deaths mark a grim milestone in a surge that has now infected more than 18,000 people across at least 45 states since early May — far exceeding any prior year on record. CDC data show the previous high came in 2018, and even the largest earlier counts number in the low thousands.
Michigan counts more than 11,000 cases as the national tally tops 18,000
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the state alone has reported 11,234 cases, including 193 hospitalizations. Nationally, at least 6,707 cases have been laboratory-confirmed, with an additional 11,500 suspected cases still under investigation. The gap between the state and federal counts is partly a matter of lag: the CDC has said it can take up to six weeks to determine whether a sick person belongs in its tally. Health officials also caution that the true number of infections is almost certainly higher still, since most people with a stomach bug never get tested.
"Two deaths have been identified as part of the cyclosporiasis outbreak affecting Michigan. According to medical records, both individuals had significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration," the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. "No additional information will be provided on these two cases."
Cyclosporiasis, caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, triggers severe watery diarrhea, "with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements," according to the CDC. Additional symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating. While rarely fatal in the U.S., the infection can cause dangerous dehydration, particularly in vulnerable patients. Untreated, the illness can drag on for a month or more.
CDC traces a nine-state cluster to a Mexican lettuce supplier
The CDC has linked cases in Michigan and eight other states to shredded iceberg lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms de Mexico, the supplier that provides produce to Taco Bell restaurants. In mid July, the agency announced that the supplier had removed all iceberg lettuce from the U.S. market, though officials noted at the time that they did not yet know whether the lettuce had also gone to other chains or grocery retailers.
Taco Bell confirmed last month that it had stopped using lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico at all of its locations. The supplier also issued a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, advising consumers to discard or return any affected product. The CDC has stressed that rinsing produce is not a reliable defense; the parasite clings tightly to leafy greens and ordinary washing does not remove it.
The parasite is endemic to Mexico and other tropical and subtropical regions, and it typically reaches Americans through fresh produce irrigated with water carrying human waste. Cyclospora does not spread directly from person to person. The CDC noted that it is also investigating other cyclosporiasis outbreaks nationally that are unrelated to the Taco Bell-linked cluster.
The UK Health Security Agency reported a "sharp rise" in cyclosporiasis infections among travelers returning from Mexico, counting 67 cases in roughly eleven weeks between April 30 and July 15 against an annual average of 93 cases from 2022 through 2025. UK officials are advising travelers to maintain strict food and water hygiene while abroad.
Americans ate the lettuce for nearly three months before anyone told them
The outbreak began in early May. The CDC did not name the source until mid July. For eleven weeks, Americans were handed a contaminated product with no way of knowing it, while the agencies that assured us the food supply was safe determined what had gone wrong.
That is the real failure here. Two Michigan families lost someone over a salad ingredient shipped in from a country where this parasite is endemic, sold through a supply chain so long that regulators needed most of a summer to walk it backward. And there was nothing any of those customers could have done differently. You cannot inspect a shredded lettuce bag in a commissary kitchen. You cannot wash the parasite off. When the consumer has no move to make, the entire burden falls on the supplier and the agencies paid to watch it — and both of them missed it for eleven weeks.
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