CDC ties 1,947 illnesses in 9 states to cyclospora lettuce outbreak

A multistate cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce has spread to nine states, with the CDC counting 1,947 infected people who reported eating at Taco Bell. The newly linked states are Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, joining Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan. Health officials in Michigan, the hardest-hit state, said more than 8,100 people have been infected. Federal regulators are investigating lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from its facility in Guanajuato, Mexico. Taylor Farms recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17, and Taco Bell removed the affected product from restaurants. Symptoms can take weeks to appear, complicating efforts to trace the source.