Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas added to list of states with outbreak cases

August 27, 2026

The number of confirmed cases in the Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms de Mexico iceberg lettuce has reached an eye-popping 11,458 individuals in 20 states, according to an update released today by the CDC.

This represents an increase of 528 cases since the previous update, released on August 20th.

The true scope of this outbreak is almost certainly much larger than the number of lab-confirmed cases. Most people who become infected with Cyclospora develop only mild symptoms and don’t seek medical assistance.

The outbreak map

The states of Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas have now been added to the list of affected states. All three of these states were on the FDA‘s posted list of states where the recalled lettuce was distributed.

Michigan remains the state most severely hit by this outbreak with more than 4800 cases confirmed so far; Ohio and Missouri are in second and third place, respectively. The CDC does not break down the number of hospitalizations on a state-by-state basis.

Here is a list of the affected states, in descending order by number of confirmed cases:

• Michigan: 4846
• Ohio: 2679
• Missouri: 1010
• Indiana: 823
• Kansas: 331
• Kentucky: 329
• Illinois: 278
• Pennsylvania: 244
• Oklahoma: 241
• Nebraska: 199
• West Virginia: 160
• Iowa: 130
• Arkansas: 82
• New Hampshire: 42
• Texas: 20
• Massachusetts: 18
• Maine: 16
• Tennessee: 5
• Georgia: 3
• North Carolina: 2

When people became ill

According to the CDC, this outbreak began (ie., initial victims became ill) on June 14 and onset dates have continued through August 15, 2026.

Of the 9,256 victims for whom an onset date is available, 1001 (10.8%) fell sick on a single day—July 10, 2026.

It can take as long as six weeks from the time an individual develops symptoms to the time the CDC is able to confirm that the person is part of the outbreak. Therefore, we can expect the case count to continue to increase, albeit more slowly, for some time to come.

The FDA investigation status

On July 17, 2026, Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled shredded iceberg product distributed June 29th thru July 16th, and suspended distribution of the iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico. According to the FDA, the recalled iceberg lettuce should no longer be available for sale.

The FDA is conducting on-site inspections and sampling at iceberg lettuce growers and the Taylor Farms processing facility in Mexico in coordination with Mexican officials.

The elephant in the room

On average, people begin to develop symptoms approximately one week after they become infected with Cyclospora (range 2 days to 2 weeks).

Therefore, most of the illnesses with onset dates prior to July 5th were NOT due to consumption of the recalled lettuce, which only hit the market on June 29th.

More than one-quarter (27%) of all the cases for which an onset date is available developed before the recalled lettuce hit the market. That’s 2,525 individuals who were exposed to contaminated lettuce that was no longer available for testing by the time the CDC and the FDA realized there was an outbreak in progress and traced it to lettuce served (according to initial data) at Taco Bell.

This is a failure of surveillance, of communication between state and federal agencies, and of traceback timeliness, and is deserving—nay, demanding—of congressional investigation.

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

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