The Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide health advisory July 14 to alert doctors, public health departments and laboratorians of the rapid increase of cyclosporiasis, a disease which causes explosive diarrhea. Out of the 35 states with individuals affected by the disease, Texas is amongst the top 10 states with the most confirmed cases.
South Texas has seen the most cases of this outbreak with North Texas having the second most. Out of all North Texas counties, only Dallas County, Denton County, Collin County and Tarrant County have reported cases of the disease.
Dallas County has reported 15 cases with nine still under further investigation. Both Denton County and Collin County have each reported two, but Collin County officials told WFAA that both are “associated with travel outside the county.” Tarrant County reported 18 cases but specifically stated that “none appear to be connected to an outbreak.”
Although labelled as an outbreak, the increase of cyclosporiasis during the summer is a common occurrence, as cyclospora are a seasonal parasite. In 2024 and 2025, the number of cases in Dallas County were 18 and 21, respectively. In 2026, cases have already neared these numbers — and five months are still left in the year.
But what exactly is cyclosporiasis? How worried should people be?
Cyclosporiasis is a nonfatal, foodborne intestinal disease caused by cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that is transmitted through water and food contaminated by human feces. Upon digestion, it infects the small intestine causing symptoms like watery diarrhea, explosive diarrhea, weight loss, stomach cramps, nausea, and more which can take anywhere from two to 14 days to manifest. While the symptoms highly resemble those of other stomach bugs, some sources have stated that explosive diarrhea specifically caused by cyclosporiasis “may come and go” over the course of the infection.
Past outbreaks of cyclosporiasis nationwide have often been attributed to certain foods like raspberries, snow peas, leafy greens and select vegetables. In the most extreme cases of infection, victims are hospitalized due to the severe, dangerous dehydration. Without medical treatment, the disease can last for a few days, a month or longer.
How can people stay safe?
The CDC is encouraging all people to wash all fruits and vegetables immensely regardless of whether it comes as pre-washed or pre-cut. To guarantee safety, cook them at a minimum temperature of 158 degrees Fahrenheit. If they have layers, it’s best to peel the outermost layer at the very least. According to Dallas County epidemiology program planner Sima Bordbar, what makes cyclosporiasis unique is its ability to strongly stick to the foods it resides in.
“I think that’s something that is a little bit more unique to cyclospora,” Bordbar said. “[For] some of the other bacterial conditions, washing your fruits and veggies carefully with water, that usually takes care of it and there’s no more risk. But with cyclospora, that is not the case.”
Symptoms of cyclosporiasis are difficult to differentiate from other diarrhea-causing pathogens, she added. If someone suspects that they have contracted cyclosporiasis, experts recommend seeing a physician immediately to submit a stool sample and test for the disease. If unable to visit a doctor and pay for medication, Bordar recommends staying consistently hydrated and well-rested as constant diarrhea can cause severe dehydration.
How is this happening all over the country?
According to Bordbar, there is a misconception in this year’s national outbreak: that the rise in cyclosporiasis cases across the country are connected to each other.
The evening of July 16, sources close to the federal investigation of cyclosporiasis told The Washington Post that the outbreaks in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia originated from Taco Bell iceberg lettuce. The specific locations which the CDC and FDA traced back the infections to all had one thing in common: they were sourced by Taylor Farms de Mexico of Guanajuato, a farm in Mexico owned and run by Taylor Farms.
Taylor Farms is one of the biggest producers of leafy greens in the entire country. They boast producing “2 in 5 value-added salads in the U.S.” on their website. The company sources mass amounts of produce for restaurants like McDonalds and chopped salads to grocery stores like Walmart, Kroger, HEB, Target and many more. A complete list of businesses that supply produce from Taylor Farms could not be found by The Retrograde.
Taylor Farms posted a statement addressing the recall July 17, stating they are recalling all iceberg lettuce distributed between June 29 and July 16 to 27 states, including Texas.
“We are actively removing the implicated products,” Taylor Farms said in the statement. “The company has stopped receiving product from the implicated lot, suspended distribution of the iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, notified our customers and we are continuing to work with the FDA, CDC, and state authorities.”
This isn’t the first, nor the second time, Taylor Farms have been found to be the culprit behind disease outbreaks. In 2013, the same farm location in Mexico caused a cyclosporiasis outbreak, sickening 539 people and sending 32 of them to the hospital. In 2024, onions in the McDonald’s Quarter Pound hamburgers caused an E. coli outbreak, infecting over 100 people and hospitalizing 34 of them.
However, Bordbar warns that just because the lettuce Taylor Farms sourced to Taco Bell was the trigger to these outbreaks, that doesn’t explain the ones in the 30 other states just yet. Local health departments, including Dallas County’s, have not been able to trace back the cyclosporiasis cases in their area to a common source. Bordbar doubts that every single one of these outbreaks across the nation have the same origin. While Taylor Farms released the list of affected produce, the exact locations to which Taylor Farms de Mexico of Guanajuato shipped it to is still unknown.
“There are some people who are thinking, ‘okay, just don’t eat at Taco Bell right now, don’t get shredded lettuce, and we’ll be fine.’” Bordbar said. “The identification of what they’re pretty sure is the source of this very large outbreak is obviously good news, but that doesn’t change the risk in Texas. We were never affected by this outbreak.”
What are local government health departments doing about these outbreaks?
When physicians and laboratories receive a positive result for an infectious disease actively being monitored by the local branch of Health and Human Services, they are required to report it straight to HHS for further investigation. These departments are in charge of monitoring and investigating the source and spread of infectious diseases. After HHS receives a report, staff epidemiologists like Bordbar contact the patient via phone, email and letter.
Once communication is established, the epidemiologists conduct investigations by thoroughly reviewing locations the patient may have contracted the disease. Epidemiologists then confer and discuss their findings to reveal potential patterns. After a case is closed, staff reach out to patients once more to offer education and resources regarding how they contracted the disease and how to prevent reinfection.
How did these outbreaks get this far?
Previously, the CDC oversaw a program called the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, more commonly known as FoodNet. The program was responsible for monitoring foodborne diseases and preventing outbreaks by monitoring changes in contaminant trends. Just recently, in July 2025, the program’s operational scope got severely reduced, causing the program to decrease the number of pathogens they monitor by 75%. Cyclospora monitoring was amongst the programs cut.
In the wake of this outbreak, public health professionals are unable to agree on whether the defunding enabled the extent to which this outbreak has gone so far. Some, like former director of the CDC’s Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases like Dan Jernigan, claim FoodNet — even prior to its shrinking — would’ve had little impact on the outbreak as it is now. Others claim the CDC’s inability to contain the outbreak yet is a reflection of not just the defunding of FoodNet, but of deteriorating public health as a whole.
This is a breaking news story. The Retrograde will provide additional details as they emerge.