July 23 (Reuters) – 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.
The facility produces 5-pound bags of shredded iceberg lettuce sold to Taco Bell, Sysco and other large food distributors that Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled on July 17.
Cases of cyclosporiasis, caused by the cyclospora parasite, have risen steadily in recent months across the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency has linked the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in some states, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said traceback evidence points to Taylor Farms products from Central Mexico.
Michigan health officials on Thursday reported 7,644 cases of the intestinal infection, up 473 from a day earlier. The state has reported 160 hospitalizations and no deaths.
The CDC said earlier this week 4,173 people across 41 states had contracted the parasite, and 308 of them had been hospitalized. The agency is also investigating more than 7,400 additional reported infections that have yet to be laboratory confirmed, many of them in Michigan and Ohio.
Separately, the FDA said on Wednesday it was investigating a new outbreak of cyclosporiasis, with 72 cases tied to an as-yet-unidentified source.
The FDA’s outbreak tracker shows six active cyclospora investigations, including four ongoing outbreaks and two that have ended but remain under investigation.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters that “the Trump administration has mounted a robust response to this outbreak, working closely with health departments in all 50 states and leading the public health response by promptly identifying known sources and providing Americans with the information they need to protect themselves.”
Additional implicated brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels may be identified as the FDA’s investigation continues, HHS said.
Mexico Health Minister David Kershenobich, however, said on Tuesday there was no evidence so far that lettuce from Mexico caused the outbreak.
U.S. health officials are still investigating an outbreak in five states linked to iceberg lettuce.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru, and Emily Schmall; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Shilpi Majumdar and Shailesh Kuber)
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