The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the Taco Bell deals cyclosporiasis outbreak had expanded to nine states, with about 2,000 cases now tied to the affected states. People in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan are included in the update.
Cyclosporiasis is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis, a parasite that can spread through contaminated food or water. For Taco Bell customers, the practical issue is the lettuce: an outbreak in five states had already been linked to shredded lettuce sold at Taco Bell and supplied by Taylor Fresh Foods, and Taco Bell pulled the affected lettuce from its menu.
CDC update and case counts
The Friday count adds to a larger picture the CDC has been tracking since late June, when the multistate outbreak began in the Midwest. Across the U.S., the agency said there are almost 12,000 confirmed and probable cases in 41 states, with at least 308 hospitalizations and no deaths reported.
That wider tally shows why the Taco Bell-linked outbreak cannot be read as a single restaurant issue. The cases are spread across a broad geographic area, and the CDC also said the United States sees about 3,000 cyclosporiasis cases a year on average.
Taco Bell lettuce and Taylor Fresh Foods
The known Taco Bell connection remains specific: shredded lettuce supplied by Taylor Fresh Foods and linked to five states. Taylor Fresh Foods recalled all of its iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, which narrowed the immediate food source while leaving investigators to sort out whether more than one source is involved.
For customers, that means the core exposure question is not every Taco Bell item, but the lettuce tied to the outbreak. The recall points to a produce ingredient, not a broad menu problem, and the CDC’s expansion to nine states suggests the investigation is still catching up with where cases have appeared.
Michigan, Ohio, and the wider spread
Michigan reported 8,176 cyclosporiasis cases and 160 hospitalizations as of July 24, while Ohio reported over 2,500 cases. North Carolina had over 500 cases since May, and New York had over 600 cases since May, showing that the outbreak’s footprint is larger than the Taco Bell-linked cluster alone.
The CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are still investigating other possible sources of the outbreak and whether tainted lettuce went to other states. That leaves the immediate next step focused on tracing produce distribution, not on a finished answer about why the counts keep climbing outside the original five-state link.
