Cyclospore is *** parasite. It is all over the environment. It’s primarily found in soil, fruits, and vegetables. Uh, it peaks, uh, during the summertime, uh, when people are eating more fruits and vegetables. And what happens is there’s *** parasite in those items that gets into your body. It adheres to your gut, and matures, and then it causes *** very intense watery diarrhea. Most people resolve it on their own. Some can get awfully sick and need antibiotics to clear it. There are multiple different organisms that can cause *** diarrheal illness, norovirus, salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, and also Cyclospora. What makes Cyclospora different is that it causes an explosive diarrhea. The other organisms have different features. It could be fever, it could be bloody diarrhea, or other. But Cyclospora primarily is an explosive diarrhea. For most people, it lasts days, not weeks. For most people, they clear it on their own with just supportive care, meaning rest and hydration. But some individuals for whom it’s persistent or intense need antibiotics to clear it. I would say that if your diarrhea is not intense, it’s short duration and not associated with lightheadedness, fever, The inability to take in fluids, you’re probably OK self-managing. If you have fever, persistent nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, are unable to keep up with your fluids. If you’re very young, if you’re old, if you have medical problems, and it’s persisting, those are people that would benefit from an office evaluation. At the office, they’re able to do testing such as we have right in our lab. And they take *** swab of the diarrhea, send it to our lab, and we can see if the organism is present. Common fruits and vegetables that cyclospore is found in include cilantro, basil, leafy greens, lettuce, salad mixes, spinach, uh, raspberries, blueberries. And what’s *** feature of all of those items is they have rough irregular surfaces. So they’re very difficult to fully clean. That’s the biggest challenge. That’s the biggest opportunity to reduce the risk of getting this infection. Well, people should not use things like bleach or other to clean surfaces. What they need to do is do other than just apply running water. They need some physical contacts against the food items themselves to clean the surfaces. So washing very well with clean water and then manually cleaning the fruit or vegetables generally will prevent the transmission. It’s not clear if it’s coming from farms. It’s not clear if there are other sources involved. But again, the general approach of washing it vigorously with water and then manually cleaning the food items is the best strategy that we have. There’s also not human to human transmission. The way this spreads is from *** person having diarrhea and some of that material getting into either food prep or food service. That’s the way it can transmit. Um, in general, the, the therapy is to rest and keep up with your fluids. You wanna be very selective you’re, you’re using over the counter medication, medication that slows the diarrhea. You don’t want to retain um the parasite in your system. That’s the caution about using such medicines.
Iceberg lettuce recalled in 27 states due to potential Cyclospora contamination
The recall comes after the company pulled the lettuce from shelves amid a CDC investigation
Updated: 2:23 PM CDT Jul 18, 2026
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Produce supplier Taylor Farms is recalling iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 U.S. states because of potential contamination with Cyclospora, the parasite causing thousands of cases of diarrhea across the country.Related video above: Dr. Steven Goldberg talks about the parasite behind cyclosporiasisThe company said it’s “actively removing” the products, has suspended distribution of iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico to the United States and is no longer receiving products from the implicated lot.”Consumers who have purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should discard it immediately and not consume it,” the company said.Taylor Farms said the shredded iceberg lettuce product was distributed June 29 through July 16 in 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.The recall notice includes brand abbreviations and some product descriptions, including use-by dates, but does not mention specific retailers or product names. The company has said that no Taylor Farms-branded salads or kits are associated with the outbreak and no Taylor Farms-branded salad kits contain iceberg lettuce.”At this time, Taylor Fresh Foods has not publicly provided distribution information or a list of customers who received the product that was voluntarily removed from the market,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in an update Friday.Federal health officials have linked a large Cyclospora surge in the Midwest to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. Taco Bell said Friday that it has removed the lettuce from its restaurants and its nationwide supply chain.The FDA said more states may be added to the list as more information becomes available.Restaurant food distributor Sysco said it had already taken action on Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from Mexico.”Sysco proactively removed all Taylor Farms processed iceberg lettuce products from Mexico from distribution and instructed customers to destroy them after learning regulators indicated a suspected link between Taylor Farms’ lettuce and a five-state Cyclospora outbreak,” a spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.People with cyclosporiasis may have symptoms that include watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating for weeks, which can lead to dehydration. Cases of the intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite are surging across the U.S., with nearly 7,000 confirmed or under investigation in 34 states since May 1, according to data published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Federal health officials said there are multiple investigations underway — some tied to the large outbreak in the Midwest, some involving single states and some involving cases not yet tied to any cluster.So far, the outbreak linked to the lettuce is considered to be a regional one, centered in the Midwest. The Michigan state health department has reported more than 5,000 cases of cyclosporiasis during the outbreak investigation. The state health department said that it “cannot say with certainty that every illness is linked to the same source of exposure” but that the concentrated, sharp increase in cases “strongly suggests that the vast majority of these illnesses are associated with the same outbreak.” This would make it the largest Cyclospora outbreak in the U.S. on record.Taylor Farms produce has also been linked with previous illness outbreaks, including E. coli cases tied to slivered onions in 2024 and cyclosporiasis cases linked with lettuce in 2013.
Produce supplier Taylor Farms is recalling iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 U.S. states because of potential contamination with Cyclospora, the parasite causing thousands of cases of diarrhea across the country.
Related video above: Dr. Steven Goldberg talks about the parasite behind cyclosporiasis
The company said it’s “actively removing” the products, has suspended distribution of iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico to the United States and is no longer receiving products from the implicated lot.
“Consumers who have purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should discard it immediately and not consume it,” the company said.
Taylor Farms said the shredded iceberg lettuce product was distributed June 29 through July 16 in 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.
The recall notice includes brand abbreviations and some product descriptions, including use-by dates, but does not mention specific retailers or product names. The company has said that no Taylor Farms-branded salads or kits are associated with the outbreak and no Taylor Farms-branded salad kits contain iceberg lettuce.
“At this time, Taylor Fresh Foods has not publicly provided distribution information or a list of customers who received the product that was voluntarily removed from the market,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in an update Friday.
Federal health officials have linked a large Cyclospora surge in the Midwest to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. Taco Bell said Friday that it has removed the lettuce from its restaurants and its nationwide supply chain.
The FDA said more states may be added to the list as more information becomes available.
Restaurant food distributor Sysco said it had already taken action on Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from Mexico.
“Sysco proactively removed all Taylor Farms processed iceberg lettuce products from Mexico from distribution and instructed customers to destroy them after learning regulators indicated a suspected link between Taylor Farms’ lettuce and a five-state Cyclospora outbreak,” a spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.
People with cyclosporiasis may have symptoms that include watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating for weeks, which can lead to dehydration. Cases of the intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite are surging across the U.S., with nearly 7,000 confirmed or under investigation in 34 states since May 1, according to data published this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal health officials said there are multiple investigations underway — some tied to the large outbreak in the Midwest, some involving single states and some involving cases not yet tied to any cluster.
So far, the outbreak linked to the lettuce is considered to be a regional one, centered in the Midwest. The Michigan state health department has reported more than 5,000 cases of cyclosporiasis during the outbreak investigation. The state health department said that it “cannot say with certainty that every illness is linked to the same source of exposure” but that the concentrated, sharp increase in cases “strongly suggests that the vast majority of these illnesses are associated with the same outbreak.” This would make it the largest Cyclospora outbreak in the U.S. on record.
Taylor Farms produce has also been linked with previous illness outbreaks, including E. coli cases tied to slivered onions in 2024 and cyclosporiasis cases linked with lettuce in 2013.
