A nationwide outbreak of cyclospora that has sickened people across the United States, including in Florida, is continuing to worsen, and health authorities have now pointed to a likely source. According to a source close to the investigation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified Taylor Farms as the probable origin of the contamination. The development marks a significant step in an outbreak that has worried and sickened consumers for weeks, as investigators work to trace exactly how the parasite spread so widely.
Taylor Farms is a California-based supplier that provides lettuce to a range of major grocery stores and fast-food restaurants, including Taco Bell, Walmart, Target and Whole Foods. Because the company's produce reaches so many well-known chains, the potential scope of exposure has been a central concern for health officials. The link to a single large supplier helps explain how cases have turned up in so many different states, tied to products that are distributed and sold on a national scale.
The scale of the outbreak has grown considerably, with more than 1,600 cases now confirmed across the country. The illness has been reported in dozens of states, with the vast majority of the cases concentrated in Michigan, and most of them occurring over the last several weeks. Cyclosporiasis is normally far less common, which has made the sharp rise in infections especially striking to public health experts who have been tracking the outbreak as the numbers continue to climb.
In South Florida, health officials have been monitoring a steady stream of cases since May. There have been 17 confirmed cases in Miami-Dade County and seven in Broward County, and now the first case has been confirmed in Monroe County, extending the outbreak further into the region. The appearance of cases across multiple South Florida counties underscores how the illness has reached communities well beyond the states where the bulk of infections have been recorded.
The disease itself causes severe gastrointestinal illness, and those who have fallen ill describe symptoms that can come on suddenly and leave them incapacitated. One South Florida woman who got sick said that the illness took over from one second to the next, leaving her shaking from dehydration and unable to move her body. She said she was bedridden for days and unable to eat, and eventually needed an IV to get fluids back into her system so that she could stay hydrated during the worst of the illness.
Despite the severity of the symptoms, health officials have offered some reassurance about the overall risk. No deaths have been reported in connection with the outbreak, and the CDC says only about 8% of cases require hospitalization. The infection is also treatable, with officials noting that antibiotics, and Bactrim in particular, can be used to address the illness. That means most people who become sick are expected to recover, though the experience can be debilitating while it lasts.
As the investigation continues, some businesses have already taken precautionary steps in response to the outbreak. Taco Bell, for example, had previously removed certain salad ingredients from some of its restaurants as a precaution while the source was being traced. With the CDC now pointing to Taylor Farms, attention is likely to turn to how the contamination occurred and what further measures may be needed to keep affected products off shelves and out of restaurants as officials work to bring the outbreak under control.