The federal government is poised to declare an end to the cyclospora outbreak, according to three senior administration officials, bringing to a close an episode that led many people to forgo lettuce for fear of contracting a debilitating case of diarrhea.
The outbreak has been the largest on record in the United States. More than 11,000 cases have been linked to iceberg lettuce sold by Taylor Farms, one of the nation’s largest producers of leafy greens and vegetables. Of the people who became sick, nearly 500 have been hospitalized and two have died.
In addition to the cases definitively tied to Taylor Farms, more than 17,000 cases reported since May 1 have been confirmed or are being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By comparison, there were only about 1,180 cases from May through August of last year.
The C.D.C. generally deems a food-borne outbreak to be over when the agency determines that new illnesses are no longer being reported, and that the product causing the illness has been cleared from shelves.
The F.D.A., which oversees about 80 percent of the nation’s food supply and imports, is continuing to investigate the root cause of the outbreak, according to one of the senior officials, who were not cleared to discuss the matter publicly. Last month, the agency sent inspectors to the Taylor Farms processing center and lettuce farms in northeastern Mexico.
Most of the illnesses linked to the Taylor Farms lettuce were reported to have begun between mid-June and mid-July, according to the C.D.C.
In July, Taylor Farms announced that it was voluntarily recalling all iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico. The recalled products were distributed across 27 states, and were sold at stores and restaurants that included Walmart, Taco Bell, Subway and Jack in the Box.
The latest best-by date on the recalled lettuce was Aug. 3, meaning that the affected lettuce should not be available in stores or restaurants.
But new cases have still mounted in the weeks since, in part because it takes so long to become sick from cyclospora. After someone consumes the parasite, it can take up to two weeks to develop symptoms. From there, it may be another handful of weeks before an affected person visits a doctor and has their stool tested, then another few weeks before a positive case is reported to federal health officials.
In all, it may take six weeks from the time someone develops symptoms to when the C.D.C. officially counts the case.
The F.D.A. is also investigating four smaller cyclospora outbreaks, three of which are ongoing, and the largest of which now comprises 231 cases. The agency has not yet identified the sources of those outbreaks.
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