Cyclospora Outbreak: What We Know | San Antonio News

0:00It's September 11th from your city to your ears, this is San Antonio News. Today, powered by AI, I'm Cory with the story. Alright, let's talk about this cyclosporial situation. Health officials are saying the biggest outbreak of this food-borne illness in US history is officially over. We're talking about almost 13,000 reported cases, which is a massive number, and it's all tied to iceberg lettuce that was recalled. This whole thing really blew up this year, with nearly 20,000 confirmed cases since May 1st. That's more than 16 times the number from last year. While the iceberg lettuce outbreak was the main event, there are still thousands of other cases that haven't been linked to any specific food source, which is pretty wild. Michigan took the hardest hit, with the most cases, and sadly, two deaths connected to this outbreak. Cyclospor, itself, is a tiny parasite that causes some serious digestive distress, usually popping up in the late spring and summer. It's not as common as salmonella or ecoli, and a lot of the time they can't even pinpoint where it came from.

1:04Initially, investigators thought it might be lettuce from Taco Bell, and they eventually pointed to Taylor Farms, which recalled a bunch of their... bag salads. The FDA has wrapped up their inspections at the lettuce farms and processing plants in Mexico, though they're still waiting on some sample results. This outbreak has really highlighted a bigger issue. US regulators aren't doing as many international inspections to catch contaminated produce, before it hits our plates. It's a complex problem with a lot of moving parts, and even though this specific outbreak is done, the origin of the contamination remains a mystery.