US CDC links four more states to cyclosporiasis outbreak, Washington Post reports

July 24 (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked four additional states to a multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak traced to shredded iceberg lettuce sourced from ​central Mexico, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing two ‌people familiar with the investigation.

Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania were newly tied to the outbreak, according to the report, in addition to Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The CDC ‌could ​not be reached for comment outside regular ⁠business hours.

The patients in the ⁠four additional states may have fallen ill around the same time as those in the initial five states, but investigators likely needed more time to determine whether the cases were ​part of the same outbreak, the Post reported, citing one of the people.

Cases of cyclosporiasis, caused by the cyclospora parasite, have ⁠been reported in at least 41 ⁠states this year, though investigators are still working to ​determine how many cases are linked to the outbreak tied to ​shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served ‌at Taco Bell restaurants.

Michigan, the hardest-hit state, reported 7,644 cases of the intestinal infection on Thursday, up 473 from a day earlier.

On July 17, Taylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. ⁠The recall includes lettuce sold in retail stores, served in restaurants and distributed to food service customers.

Mexico’s health ministry said on Thursday that results ⁠of its studies ‌of lettuce and water samples from U.S. supplier ⁠Taylor Farms were negative for cyclospora, following a ​health ‌inspection of the company’s plant in central Mexico ​earlier this ⁠week.

Taylor Farms has temporarily shut down the Central Mexico processing facility that U.S. health officials have linked to an ongoing multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey and Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel ​and Shinjini Ganguli)