Lettuce-linked cyclosporiasis outbreak reaches 11,458 cases as USDA terminates two research projects

A multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis tied to iceberg lettuce grown by Taylor Farms de Mexico has sickened 11,458 people in 20 states, including new cases in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. The CDC has recorded close to 30,000 confirmed or probable Cyclospora infections this summer, resulting in 922 hospital admissions and two deaths among individuals with serious pre‑existing conditions. The USDA has terminated two of its three Cyclospora research initiatives after the Agriculture Appropriations Act provided no funding, and the remaining program is slated to relocate from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland to Iowa as part of a larger restructuring plan, though many parasitologists plan to leave rather than move. The outbreak has prompted a decline in leafy‑green purchases nationwide.