{"id":75198,"date":"2026-07-31T22:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T02:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=75198"},"modified":"2026-07-31T22:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T02:37:48","slug":"florida-cyclospora-outbreak-linked-to-lettuce-recall-264-cases-across-nearly-40-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/07\/31\/florida-cyclospora-outbreak-linked-to-lettuce-recall-264-cases-across-nearly-40-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Lettuce Recall: 264 cases across nearly 40 counties"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Florida’s state health officials and federal agencies are tracking a significant uptick in cyclosporiasis<\/strong> cases\u2014an intestinal infection caused by the Cyclospora<\/em> parasite. As of late July, total reported cases in Florida since the beginning of the year reached 264<\/strong> across nearly 40 counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vast majority of Florida\u2019s cases\u2014over 200\u2014were reported during June and July, coinciding with what public health officials consider peak “cyclosporiasis season” (May through August).<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outbreak & Recall Details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • The Suspected Vector:<\/strong> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC identified commercial iceberg lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms<\/strong> (including supplies sourced from central Mexico) as a potential source for a major multistate outbreak.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Recalls:<\/strong> Voluntarily recalled produce includes various iceberg lettuce products distributed to restaurant chains (such as select Taco Bell locations) and retail outlets (including Walmart stores) across several states.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • National Context:<\/strong> Nationwide, public health authorities are monitoring thousands of confirmed and suspected cases across dozens of states, with several hundred hospitalizations reported but no deaths.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    What is Cyclosporiasis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal illness caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with Cyclospora cayetanensis<\/em>.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Key Aspect<\/strong><\/td>Details<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
    Common Symptoms<\/strong><\/td>Watery diarrhea (often explosive), loss of appetite, abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue, and low-grade fever.<\/td><\/tr>
    Incubation Period<\/strong><\/td>Typically 7 to 14 days<\/strong> after ingesting contaminated fresh produce.<\/td><\/tr>
    Transmission<\/strong><\/td>Spread by consuming fresh fruits or leafy greens contaminated with human fecal material carrying the parasite. It is rarely spread person-to-person<\/strong> because the parasite needs days to weeks outside the host to become infectious.<\/td><\/tr>
    Treatment<\/strong><\/td>Unlike many viral stomach bugs, cyclosporiasis is treated effectively with a specific course of antibiotics (typically trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole \/ Bactrim) prescribed by a healthcare provider.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Prevention & Safety Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Check Recall Notices:<\/strong> Review recent FDA produce recall lists if you have recently purchased pre-packaged salad or iceberg lettuce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Wash Produce Thoroughly:<\/strong> Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables under running water before eating, peeling, or cutting. (Note: While washing reduces risk, it may not completely remove all microscopic parasite oocysts from leaf folds).<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Seek Medical Care:<\/strong> If you experience severe or lingering gastrointestinal symptoms lasting several days, contact a healthcare provider for testing and targeted treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Florida’s state health officials and federal agencies are tracking a significant uptick in cyclosporiasis cases\u2014an intestinal infection caused by the Cyclospora parasite. As of late July, total reported cases in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDdcL2ltYWdlcy0xLTYud2VicD9maXQ9NzM4JTJDMzY5JnNzbD0xIiwidHh0IjoiRmxvcmlkYSBDeWNsb3Nwb3JhIE91dGJyZWFrIExpbmtlZCB0byBMZXR0dWNlIFJlY2FsbDogMjY0IGNhc2VzIGFjcm9zcyBuZWFybHkgNDAgY291bnRpZXMiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.TU6iPxTBFZFJJ6mrDa6_Z81YRaaJ3GRtENYeHamz078MQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzA3XC9pbWFnZXMtMS02LndlYnAiLCJ0eHQiOiJGbG9yaWRhIEN5Y2xvc3BvcmEgT3V0YnJlYWsgTGlua2VkIHRvIExldHR1Y2UgUmVjYWxsOiAyNjQgY2FzZXMgYWNyb3NzIG5lYXJseSA0MCBjb3VudGllcyIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiZG9pcyIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNjMwNDA2NjF9.i39zgNVTJud-vzbuJYDt0IjcMzYGPKPnP6pVRabNxP0MQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[15450,15453,15267,15458,15456,15451,15460,15212],"class_list":["post-75198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional-and-world-news","tag-cyclospora","tag-fda","tag-florida-news","tag-food-recall","tag-food-safety","tag-lettuce-recall","tag-outbreak","tag-public-health"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75200,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75198\/revisions\/75200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}