More than 11,500 cyclosporiasis cases reported in 41 states: CDC
Cases of cyclosporiasis have topped 11,500 in 41 states, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday.
There are at least 4,173 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, including 308 hospitalizations, the data shows.
The agency is also aware of at least 7,400 additional cases that have not yet been laboratory confirmed. Many of these additional cases have been reported by Michigan and Ohio.
The CDC data shows the ages of those who have fallen ill range between 2 and 95 years old.
There is a six-week reporting lag between when people feel sick and case reporting to the CDC, indicating that numbers will likely continue to rise.
While health officials have linked some of these cases to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in five states -- Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia -- it is possible there are other potential sources, which officials are investigating.
The lettuce was supplied to Taco Bell by Taylor Farms and sourced from central Mexico.
Last week, Taylor Farms de Mexico issued a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, with the recall affecting 27 states. The recalled products were distributed from June 29 through July 16 and have best-if-used-by dates up to Aug. 3.
Taco Bell said Friday that it is no longer using lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico at any of its restaurants.
Over the weekend, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, which was not part of the recall, tested positive for the parasite.
However, the agency later clarified that during a re-review of the sample results, it determined the result was a false positive. Taylor Farms issued a statement on Sunday, saying "we were informed that FDA made a mistake."
However, acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said during a press conference on Monday that the false positive did not change the FDA's findings that linked cases to shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms.
On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News that the multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak is "under control."
"We do have the outbreak under control," Kennedy said. "We have an extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics, and we've identified the source of the outbreak. We and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall."
Some lawmakers, including Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., have criticized the federal government's response to the outbreak.
Kennedy told ABC News criticisms of the federal response are "invalid."
"We had no cuts in our surveillance program. We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance," Kennedy said. "And all this space will tell you that we're still doing forensics. We're still doing surveillance in all this space."
