9:50 pm ET July 16, 2026
Taco Bell removes lettuce in some states, citing cyclospora risk
Thao Nguyen and Mike Snider
In a statement on July 16, Taco Bell said it had removed lettuce from one of its suppliers in select states after reports linked the ingredient to the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people across the country.
“Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell has taken immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states,” the company said in a statement.
The lettuce supplied by the vendor would be “indefinitely removed” from its supply chain nationwide and replaced within 24 hours in affected states, according to Taco Bell. The company did not identify the supplier or specify which states were affected by the removal.
The announcement came a day after the company said it had removed ingredients from some stores in what the fast-food chain said wasprecautionary.
4:36 pm ET July 16, 2026
Arby’s marks its meats ‘safe from leafy greens’
Mike Snider
One fast-food chain, Arby’s, is holding itself up as a safe haven amid concerns about leafy greens and the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak.
Even though health officials haven’t found any link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredients, the popular fast food chain has removed ingredients from some stores in what it said was a precautionary move. Meanwhile, Chipotle told USA TODAY the restaurant chain “is monitoring the situation closely.”
But Arby’s found a flex amid the flare-up. In an Instagram post Wednesday, the company posted a picture of a Beef & Cheddar Sandwich with the notice “Marked Safe From leafy greens today.”
Arby’s found another way to take advantage and tout its meaty sandwiches as a non-lettuce option.
“Skipping salads this week? Arby’s has you covered,” the company said in a news release. The chain announced a new Arby’s Cheesesteak Happy Hour, daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, starting Thursday.
During that time, members of the Arby’s Rewards loyalty program can get a free order of medium curly fries, four-piece mozzarella sticks, medium shake or a side of mac and cheese with the purchase of Arby’s new cheesesteak.
4:23 pm ET July 16, 2026
Cyclospora immunity? Here’s what health officials say
Anthony Thompson
Recovering from cyclosporiasis does not make someone immune to future infections, according to health officials, meaning people can become infected again if they are exposed to the parasite.
According to the New York State Department of Health, people who have had a cyclospora infection can be reinfected. The microscopic parasite spreads through contaminated food or water and has been linked to outbreaks involving fresh produce.
Researchers say many parasites have evolved ways to avoid or delay elimination by the body’s immune system, making long-lasting immunity difficult to develop. While some parasitic infections can lead to partial protection over time, health officials say that is not the case with cyclospora.
3:09 pm ET July 16, 2026
Ohio cyclosporiasis count triples to 1,192
Jason Rossi
Ohio continues to see more new cyclosporiasis cases, with the number more than tripling in the past week amid a nationwide outbreak.
As of July 16, the Ohio Department of Health is reporting 1,192 cases of cyclosporiasis in 70 counties so far in 2026, with 86 people hospitalized. That’s up from 364 cases in 51 counties as of July 9. (The state updates its infectious disease dashboard weekly on Thursday.) All but nine of those cases occurred in June and July, mostly since June 20.
The most cases in Ohio are in Lucas County in the northwest portion of the state, which reports 249, up from 86 the previous week. Wood County, just to the south of Lucas, reports 129 cases, up from 49.
2:34 pm ET July 16, 2026
White House is ‘closely monitoring the situation,’ press secretary says
Sara Moniuszko
In a news conference Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the “White House is closely monitoring the situation.”
“We’re committed to providing the CDC and the FDA the resources that they need,” she said, adding they urge all Americans to follow CDC guidance on “properly washing and cooking raw ingredients to prevent this food-borne illness.”
When asked if cuts to public health have slowed the response to the outbreak in any way, Leavitt said “not at all,” adding the FDA and CDC have “the resources they need to make sure that Americans are fully informed and protected from this illness during this time.”
1:29 pm ET July 16, 2026
‘Explosive diarrhea’ vs. diarrhea. Experts explain the difference
Kaycee Sloan and Mary Walrath-Holdridge
Diarrhea is defined as passing “loose, watery stools three or more times a day, or more often than what is normal for you,” per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Explosive diarrhea, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like – a “frequent sudden passing of liquid or loose stool,” according to Pfizer. It occurs when “strong bowel contractions push large volumes of watery stool and gas into the rectum faster than it can hold them, leading to a sudden and forceful bowel movement.”
1:20 pm ET July 16, 2026
102 in Michigan hospitalized with cyclosporiasis
Kristen Jordan Shamus
At least 102 people in Michigan have been hospitalized since June 22 in an outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection that causes watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, the state health department reported Thursday.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also reported 4,312 cases statewide Thursday of the fast-moving gastrointestinal illness, which has sickened others in 34 states as well.
As cyclosporiasis case counts climb, and public health investigators scramble to find a source, Americans are carefully considering the food they’re eating. That’s especially true when it comes to fresh produce, which can be contaminated by the parasite that causes cyclosporiasis and has been implicated in previous outbreaks of the gut-churning disease.
1:04 pm ET July 16, 2026
Why are cyclosporiasis cases so high this year?
Sara Moniuszko
There are a combination of factors leading to the high number of cases we’re currently seeing, according to Barbara Kowalcyk,director of the Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, including scaled back surveillance.
“Ideally we would identify these outbreaks before they got to six or 7,000 cases. We would identify them when they’re small. We would be able to intervene and prevent them from becoming so big,” she said during a media briefing. “And so that’s my concern: the fact that there’s been across the board funding cuts for public health.”
Better testing is also likely leading to higher case counts.
Most cyclospora cases now are being diagnosed through culture-independent diagnostic testing, which are PCR-based panels that can screen for about 20 different pathogens at the same time, explained Craig Hedberg, a professor with University of Minnesota’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences, who was also on the briefing.
“These panels are much more widely used today than they were 10 years ago. So we have much better ability to pick up these infections at the clinical level than we used to have,” Hedberg added.
Plus, when there’s national awareness of an illness like this, “people go in for testing who otherwise might not have been tested,” he added.
12:42 pm ET July 16, 2026
Cooking is better than washing to prevent illness, expert says
Sara Moniuszko
Although he recognized people won’t want to cook their salad, Donald Schaffner, a professor at Rutgers University’s Department of Food Science, says cooking is much more effective at reducing your risk for cyclosporiasis than washing.
“Washing is not a terribly effective intervention for any pathogens that are associated with fresh produce,” he said during a media briefing hosted by George Washington University’s Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition. “So telling people to wash their produce maybe feel good, but it does not really doing anything to actually manage risk for people.”
Cooking, however, he adds, “is effective at inactivating this microorganism.”
Health officials say to heat food to 158 degrees or higher to kill the parasite.
12:21 pm ET July 16, 2026
Should you be concerned about cyclosporiasis when you’re pregnant?
Mike Snider
There are plenty of health concerns during pregnancy. Should the recent surge in cases of cyclosporiasis be added to maternal worries? The answer is complicated, but shouldn’t cause alarm.
The good news is that there’s “no strong evidence” that the parasite that causes the infection’s severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including intense diarrhea, crosses the placenta or directly attacks the fetus, Dr. Tyler Evans, founder and CEO of Wellness Equity Alliance and the author of “Pandemics, Poverty, and Politics,” told USA TODAY.
However, someone who is pregnant should also take preventive steps to avoid contracting the illness. You should be “concerned enough to be careful, not enough to be frightened,” Evans said. “Cyclosporiasis is usually not life-threatening, and healthy people generally recover. But pregnancy changes the calculation.”
Symptoms can be dangerous during pregnancy because it can cause “prolonged, watery, often relapsing diarrhea that can last weeks untreated,” Evans said. “In pregnancy, dehydration and fluid loss matter more. Low fluid volume can reduce blood flow and, in some cases, contribute to early contractions. The danger here is not exotic. It is dehydration, and it is manageable if caught early.”
Another aspect to keep in mind is that treatment for the infection is an antibiotic, some of which can cross the placenta. “In pregnancy that drug requires judgment,” said Evans, who served as the first chief medical officer for New York City’s COVID-19 response and has worked in global health across dozens of countries for nearly three decades.
11:55 am ET July 16, 2026
Chipotle, Taco Bell, Sweetgreen shares stabilize after initial cyclosporiasis scare
Medora Lee
Shares of fast-food eateries like Chipotle and Taco Bell parent Yum! Brands are slightly lower, trying to recover from fears over the spread of foodborne illness cyclosporiasis.
Out of precaution, Taco Bell temporarily pulled at-risk ingredients like lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, and cilantro at select locations after health officials said they’re investigating a potential link to contaminated lettuce. Chipotle said it didn’t believe its ingredients were infected, and Sweetgreen has not issued any public statement.
At 11:34 AM ET, shares of Yum! were down 0.48% at $151.84 each, Chipotle off 0.07% at $34.60 and Sweetgreen down 2.6% at $6.55.
Although shares are under pressure due to the outbreak, historical price actions have shown fast-food stocks usually bounce back after the scare passes. In 2018, McDonald’s shares initially fell after Iowa and Illinois health departments investigated Cyclospora infections linked to the fast-food chain’s salads. Shares recovered in about a week, data show.
11:43 am ET July 16, 2026
Taco Bell pulls some ingredients out of caution after cyclosporiasis outbreak
Ken Alltucker
With a fast-moving gastrointestinal illness cyclosporiasis infecting thousands in more than 30 states, the popular fast food chain Taco Bell has removed ingredients from some stores in what it said was a precautionary move.
Taco Bell Corp. said it “voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients” at select restaurants. The fast food chain added public health officials haven’t “confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer.”
As cyclosporiasis spreads and Taco Bell pulls some ingredients out of caution, one can’t help but think of other restaurants that might be at risk. Shares of Chipotle dropped nearly 5% on Wednesday, even though the chain has not been connected to the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
Chipotle officials said they don’t believe their ingredients are affected by the outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a stomach-churning illness that can trigger explosive, watery diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
“We are aware of the Cyclospora investigation and at this time, we don’t believe the ingredients we source are associated,” Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs and food safety officer said in a statement. “We are monitoring the situation closely and evaluating any new information as it becomes available. The health and safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority.”
10:53 am ET July 16, 2026
How to treat cyclosporiasis
Melina Khan
According to the CDC, most people with healthy immune symptoms can recover from cyclosporiasis without treatment, but medicine is available.
People with symptoms should see a health care provider, who can prescribe an antibiotic for treatment.
The antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, which is sold under the names Bactrim, Septra or Cotrim, is commonly prescribed for treatment, but those with a sulfa drug allergy may receive ciprofloxacin or nitazoxanide, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
With proper treatment, most people will feel better after about a week or two but they may still have occasional bouts of diarrhea for up to a month, per the Cleveland Clinic.
10:30 am ET July 16, 2026
Should parents be concerned about what kids are eating at camp?
Sara Moniuszko
If you’re a parent with a kid at summer camp amid the cyclosporiasis outbreak, how concerned should you be?
In response to a question from USA TODAY during an Infectious Diseases Society of America media briefing on July 16, Dr. Thomas Moore, University of Kansas-Wichita campus clinical professor of medicine, said “it’s hard to know, primarily because we don’t know where this is coming from, and that’s really the biggest issue.”
The safest thing to do? Practice good food hygiene, he added.
“As a parent, I would just tell my kids just make sure you wash the fruits and vegetables before you eat them,” Moore said. “Hopefully, they’re washed in the kitchen before they were given to the kids.”
“I’m not going to tell people not to eat them because we just don’t know where this is coming from,” he added. “And (fruits and vegetables are) part of a healthy diet.”
Heating food to 158 degrees or higher kills the parasite, according to the health officials.
10:22 am ET July 16, 2026
What are the signs, symptoms of cyclosporiasis?
Melina Khan
People who contract cyclosporiasis may not develop symptoms until anywhere between two days to two weeks after infection, according to the CDC.
Per the agency, common symptoms of cyclosporiasis include:
- Watery diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Cramping
- Bloating
- Increased gas
- Nausea
- Fatigue
While some people who are infected may not have symptoms, those who do may be sick for up to a month or more, per the CDC.
10:16 am ET July 16, 2026
How do you know if you need to see a doctor?
Sara Moniuszko
You wake up with diarrhea. Should you see the doctor right away? It depends, health experts say.
In a media briefing hosted by that Infectious Diseases Society of America on July 16, Dr. Thomas Moore, a Campus Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas-Wichita, said diarrheal disease of all kinds are more common in the summer.
“Somebody has one day worth of loose stools − maybe it’s cyclosporiasis, but it could be almost anything else as well,” he explained, noting the length of symptoms can clue someone into whether additional care is needed or not.
“The clinician’s suspicion should be raised if the diarrhea persists over several days, at least, I would say, three days,” Moore added.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, added to be aware of other symptoms as well, including high fever or blood in the stool.
“Either of those things could signal a more invasive process that almost always would require consideration of antibiotic treatment,” she said.
Concern also depends on someone’s immune strength.
“People that are at higher risk − if they have immunosuppression, the frail older patients, for example − have a lower threshold for ordering testing to see if they would benefit from antimicrobial therapy,” added Dr. Paul Auwaerter, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine director of the Sherrilyn and Ken Fisher Center for Environmental Infectious Diseases.
The CDC advises those who believe they are infected to see a doctor for testing and treatment.
9:42 am ET July 16, 2026
Can cyclospora be passed person to person?
Sara Moniuszko
The disease is only “very rarely transmitted from person to person,” Dr. Thomas Moore, University of Kansas-Wichita Campus Clinical Professor of Medicine, said in a media briefing hosted by that Infectious Diseases Society of America on Thursday.
“Only standard isolation precautions are recommended for hospitalized patients,” he added. These precautions may include practices like hand hygiene before and after patient contact as well as personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks and gowns when necessary.
Instead, most people are infected through contaminated food and water.
While skipping fresh fruits and vegetables is “certainly the safest way to avoid the disease,” Moore said, “it’s not necessary.”
“Particularly if you have normal immunity, you can reduce your risk of this and other diarrheal diseases by thoroughly washing fresh produce under clean running water before eating, and by following safe food handling practices,” he added.
9:20 am ET July 16, 2026
Reality TV star details ‘vicious’ cyclosporiasis symptoms
Melina Khan
“The Challenge” star Leroy Garrett said on social media that he’s recovering after contracting cyclosporiasis.
“I don’t know exactly when or what produce I consume, I just know that I spent a romantic weekend with my toilet,” he captioned a July 15 Instagram video.
Garrett, who has appeared on more than a dozen seasons of the MTV competition show, said he had “explosive, vicious” diarrhea that kept him on the toilet for much of the day and awake in the middle of the night.
“It feel like you got Timberlands in a dryer inside your stomach,” he said. “Imagine putting some Timberlands in a dryer. You know what that would sound like? That’s what your stomach sounds and feels like.”
The 41-year-old said he went to urgent care, where doctors gave him a stool test before prescribing medication to help with his symptoms.
The “Real World: Las Vegas” alumnus, his wife, fellow “The Challenge” star Kam Williams, and their two children live in Michigan, which is tracking more than 3,700 infections as of July 15, according to the state’s Health and Human Services department.
9:06 am ET July 16, 2026
Cyclospora outbreak could linger, infectious disease experts say
Terry Collins and Melina Khan
Several infectious disease specialists across the country told USA TODAY that they are unsure how long the cyclospora outbreak will last, given officials have yet to identify what’s causing it.
“Often, public health officials can trace an outbreak back to a particular farm, grower, supplier, or contaminated water source and issue a targeted recall,” Dr. Suraj Saggar, chief of infectious diseases at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey, said July 15. “Right now, they haven’t been able to do that, suggesting there may be multiple contaminated products or multiple unrelated outbreaks occurring simultaneously.”
Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatrics professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, said she doesn’t anticipate the surge in cases ending anytime soon.
“I can’t see a way where we’re near the end, as typically most cases are narrow in scope and can be as short as one week or as long as three weeks,” Edwards told USA TODAY. “There could be more than one type of contamination, more than one type of food, and with such a spread like this, it becomes harder to remove the source and harder to get the outbreak under control.”
9:05 am ET July 16, 2026
Cyclosporiasis cases in your county
Sara Moniuszko, Ramon Padilla, Dian Zhang and Stephen J. Beard
Thousands of cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported nationwide so far, and the total is still climbing.
While most states have not released county-level data yet, USA TODAY collected figures directly from state health departments to show where reported cyclosporiasis cases are concentrated and which communities have been hardest hit.
For example, Michigan has reported more cyclosporiasis cases than any other state in the nation, and at the county level, Wayne County reported the most cases, 339, followed by Washtenaw and Monroe counties, based on county-level data available through July 13.
When the population is taken into account, Shiawassee is the hardest-hit county, with about 307 cases per 100,000 residents. That’s nearly double the rate reported in Monroe and Lenawee counties, which each had about 165 cases per 100,000 residents.
For other states and interactive graphics of country case numbers, click here for USA TODAY’s related coverage.
9:02 am ET July 16, 2026
Is produce safe to eat? Locally-grown options may be safer
Melina Khan
While many are concerned about eating certain produce, experts say locally-grown fruits and vegetables – like those sold at farmers markets – may be a safer option.
Though no produce is risk-free – especially since officials have not yet determined the exact source of this outbreak – experts told USA TODAY that items from farmers markets could be a safer option because they are probably locally-sourced. Local growers are less likely to have contaminated water sources for irrigation, which is one way the parasite can infiltrate produce.
“It’s where it’s grown, not the point of sale,” said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Past cyclosporiasis outbreaks in the United States have stemmed from produce coming from other countries, which may be in part because other countries could be using contaminated irrigation sources, said Dana Mordue, an associate professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at New York Medical College.
“In some places, the procedure may be more lax than what we think we have in the United States,” Mordue said. “In this case though, given the size of the outbreak, it’s making me at least wonder whether or not something is happening within the United States.”
