Florida's count of confirmed cyclosporiasis infections continued to rise this past week, with state health officials reporting 154 cases since May 1 as investigators track multiple outbreaks nationwide.
The weekly report is updated on Thursdays with data through the previous Saturday, meaning the figures lag by several days. The latest Florida data is reflected through July 18 and experts have said undercounts are likely. Also, disease experts say symptoms can take up to six weeks to appear, making it difficult to gauge the outbreak's current size.
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Thirty-six counties have shown at least one case over that timeframe. Miami-Dade County reported the most, with 32. Lee County was next with 16.
A week earlier, the state database had 90 confirmed cases since May 1, when federal health officials began learning of the outbreak in several states.
Nationally, cyclosporiasis cases surpassed 4,000 for the year through Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although the actual number is estimated to be above 10,000.
The illness, caused by the microscopic Cyclospora parasite, has been found in at least 41 states, the CDC said.
A major outbreak has sickened people in five Midwest states. Michigan has reported more than 7,100 cases and more than 100 hospitalizations. No direct cause has been confirmed, although the Food and Drug Administration linked it to lettuce grown by Taylor Farms in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.
On Friday, Taylor Farms initiated a recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from Guanajuato. The recall included iceberg lettuce distributed to retail stores such as Walmart, restaurants and other food service customers. That same day, Taco Bell pulled Taylor Farms lettuce from its food after the FDA connected it to the outbreak.
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On Tuesday, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the outbreak was “under control.”
“We have done extensive epidemiology forensics. We’ve identified the source of the outbreak, and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall,” Kennedy said during a news conference on healthcare fraud.
The CDC said it is also investigating other outbreaks and illnesses of cyclosporiasis nationally that are unrelated to this outbreak.
The outbreak has also renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration's reductions to some public health programs, including FoodNet, a federal-state partnership that tracks foodborne illnesses.
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“Those criticisms are invalid,” Kennedy said. “We had no cuts in the surveillance program. We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance, and all the states will tell you that we're still doing forensics. We’re still doing surveillance in all the states."
Health authorities are warning people to not eat recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico that might be sold in retail stores or served in restaurants. If you purchased recalled lettuce, throw it out or return it to the store. If you don't know the source of restaurant lettuce, ask the business.
Mexican health officials have denied the cyclosporiasis outbreak originated in their country.
Keith Schneider, a food safety professor at the University of Florida, told NBC News that the FDA is likely to be testing more than just lettuce.
“They may be testing irrigation water. They may be testing soil samples. They may be testing workers associated with that single field or those several fields that would have supplied that product to those locations at that time,” he said.
