The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the multi-state cyclospora outbreak is over.
The outbreak was initially declared in July and linked to lettuce sourced from central Mexico and sent to the U.S. by supplier Taylor Farms de Mexico, the FDA says on its website. The supplier then recalled its lettuce.
There were 12,883 cases confirmed by the CDC, with 570 people hospitalized and two people dead, the FDA said Friday. The onset date of the last case confirmed by the CDC was Aug. 17.
Cases linked to the outbreak were confirmed in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
The recalled lettuce was also distributed in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin, the FDA said, though no cases were confirmed by the CDC from those states.
The two deaths occurred in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Health said in a release Sunday that “both individuals had significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration,” and that they became sick prior to the recall of the Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce.
Cyclospora infections have symptoms including diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, bloating, cramps and weight loss, the FDA said on its website.
The FDA is still working to figure out how the cyclospora bacteria contaminated the lettuce in Mexico, having previously retrieved onsite samples from growers and the processing facility. Lab work on the samples is ongoing, the FDA said Friday.
Cyclospora is spread to food and water via the feces of infected people. Others who then consume tainted food or water get infected and become sick, the CDC says on its website.
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