Illinois and three other states were added Friday to federal health officials’ investigation into a diarrhea-causing parasite that was first tied to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to the list of states with confirmed outbreaks of the disease cyclosporiasis. The other states that are part of the agency’s investigation are Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
State and local public health officials have been interviewing people about the foods they ate within the two weeks of them becoming sick, the CDC said.
Across the nine states, at least 1,947 people have been infected with cyclospora and have reported eating at Taco Bell, according to the CDC.
No deaths have been reported in connection to the disease, and 98 people have been hospitalized, the CDC said.
“The true number of sick people in this multistate outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” CDC officials noted in a Friday update about the outbreak, which began June 22.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported as of Thursday that there have been 513 confirmed and probable cases of cyclosporiasis in the state. Of those, 39 people were hospitalized, 156 people had recently traveled out of the country and 291 people had recently traveled domestically.
More than 90 cases of the disease have been confirmed in Chicago as of Thursday, according to the city’s department of public health.
Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite cyclospora. Infection often comes after eating fresh fruits and vegetables and can lead to watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, gas and nausea.
The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.
Health officials urge people to follow typical food safety guidelines like washing hands and thoroughly washing and scrubbing fresh produce.