Federal officials are poised to declare the end of the nation’s largest known cyclosporiasis outbreak after thousands of people became sick after eating shredded iceberg lettuce, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The update may come as soon as later Thursday, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. However, the timing is not guaranteed. In mid-July, Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled products from the market as federal officials began linking its lettuce from central Mexico to a cyclosporiasis outbreak. Food and Drug Administration enforcement records show recalled products were packaged for nine food service and retail operations, such as Subway and Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.
Michigan, which has been hit hardest by cyclosporiasis, is among 20 states that federal health officials have linked to that specific outbreak involving shredded lettuce from central Mexico. More than 11,000 people have fallen ill, including nearly 500 who were hospitalized, because of the lettuce outbreak, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not comment.
Federal officials say thousands of cases of the illness have been reported nationwide in separate outbreaks unrelated to the shredded lettuce.
Outbreaks typically crop up between May 1 and Aug. 31, but this year has been particularly notable because of the sheer number of cases linked to one product. In total and across all the outbreaks, 19,595 cases have been reported this season across 49 states and Washington, D.C. Culprits in the other outbreaks have not been identified.
Two people in Michigan died; health authorities said they had “significant underlying health conditions” that may have been affected by the intestinal illness and dehydration.
Last month, Food and Drug Administration investigators traveled to the Taylor Farms operation in Mexico to inspect facilities and the fields where the lettuce was grown. As efforts to find the source of the contamination are ongoing, the FDA has said it “remains confident” that all recalled lettuce is off the market.
Some food safety experts said the agency should have gone to Mexico sooner than nearly a month after officials publicly linked the company with the outbreak. Donald Prater, the FDA’s acting deputy commissioner for food, previously told The Washington Post that the agency tried to reconstruct conditions that existed when the lettuce was actually being grown and harvested before sending investigators into the field in order to most effectively use resources.
The microscopic parasite is generally transmitted when infected feces contaminate food or water, and it usually takes roughly a week before a person gets sick after they’re infected. It generally causes watery diarrhea with frequent bowel movements and can be treated with antibiotics if needed.
But it is one of the hardest foodborne pathogens to trace its source in part because of the delay in symptoms. It’s also a relatively new pathogen, meaning research isn’t as robust as it is for other foodborne pathogens.
Lena H. Sun and Caitlin Gilbert contributed to this report.
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