A parasitic illness that moves quietly through the gut has surfaced as a measure of how far a single contaminated ingredient can travel before it is found. Over two months spanning late spring and early summer 2026, more than 1,600 people across the United States fell ill with cyclosporiasis, a condition caused by a microscopic parasite traced to lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in five Midwestern states. The lettuce had journeyed from Mexico through a California distributor to restaurant tables, carrying with it an illness that hospitalized 94 people before investigators, working backw
Taco Bell Lettuce Linked to Multistate Cyclosporiasis Outbreak
1,644 people infected with cyclosporiasis causing severe gastrointestinal illness; 94 hospitalizations reported with illnesses spanning May-July 2026.