{"id":13175,"date":"2026-07-22T03:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13175"},"modified":"2026-07-22T03:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:29:17","slug":"rfk-jr-says-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-is-under-control-amid-at-least-1600-cases-in-5-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13175","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. says cyclosporiasis outbreak is &#8216;under control&#8217; amid at least 1,600 cases in 5 states"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Tuesday that the multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak in the U.S. is &#8220;under control.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">It marks one of the first times Kennedy has commented publicly on the parasitic intestinal illness since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/cyclosporiasis\/outbreaks\/07-26\/investigation.html\" dir=\"ltr\">investigating<\/a> the outbreak along with federal and local health partners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We do have the outbreak under control,&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;We have an extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics, and we&#8217;ve identified the source of the outbreak. We and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have linked the outbreak that has sickened at least 1,600 people in<!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->five states to shredded iceberg lettuce at some Taco Bell locations. The lettuce was supplied by Taylor Farms and sourced from central Mexico.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The company has <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/safety\/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts\/taylor-fresh-foods-recalls-iceberg-lettuce-central-mexico-because-possible-health-risk\" dir=\"ltr\">voluntarily recalled<\/a> dozens of lettuce products across 27 states and said it won&#8217;t source iceberg lettuce from central Mexico for &#8220;the rest of the growing season.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Over the weekend, the FDA said a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, which was not part of the recall, tested positive. However, the agency later clarified that, during a re-review of the sample results, it determined the result was a false positive. Taylor Farms issued a<!-- -->\u00a0<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taylorfarms.com\/newsroom\/taylor-fresh-foods-statement-regarding-cyclospora-outbreak\/\" dir=\"ltr\">statement<\/a>\u00a0<!-- -->on Sunday saying &#8220;we were informed that FDA made a mistake.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur \" style=\"padding-bottom:66.70524691358025%\" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0261e016-d6f3-410e-9c8e-d1ecf16c4e3e\/kennedy-2-epa-gmh-260721_1784658197332_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0261e016-d6f3-410e-9c8e-d1ecf16c4e3e\/kennedy-2-epa-gmh-260721_1784658197332_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0261e016-d6f3-410e-9c8e-d1ecf16c4e3e\/kennedy-2-epa-gmh-260721_1784658197332_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0261e016-d6f3-410e-9c8e-d1ecf16c4e3e\/kennedy-2-epa-gmh-260721_1784658197332_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0261e016-d6f3-410e-9c8e-d1ecf16c4e3e\/kennedy-2-epa-gmh-260721_1784658197332_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a press conference to discuss new actions HHS and the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force are taking to combat healthcare fraud, in Washington, July 21, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Jim Lo Scalzo\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Health officials are continuing to investigate other cases as well as any other potential sources of the illnesses. No other sources have been identified for the domestically-acquired infections being reported in <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/cyclosporiasis\/php\/surveillance\/index.html\" dir=\"ltr\">29 other states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Some lawmakers, including Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., have criticized the federal response to the outbreak, accusing Kennedy. of &#8220;undermining food safety&#8221; with recent changes to food safety programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In a letter sent to Kennedy last week, Ossoff said the CDC&#8217;s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, known as FoodNet, no longer requires reporting the parasite that causes cyclosporiasis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The CDC ended mandatory reporting last year. <!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->Beginning July 1, 2025, reporting became optional for all pathogens except Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, according to the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/foodnet\/about\/timeline.html\" dir=\"ltr\">CDC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Previously, the FoodNet surveillance system traced a variety of foodborne illnesses across 10 states, making up 16% of the U.S. population, the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/foodnet\/about\/timeline.html\" dir=\"ltr\">CDC<\/a> said. Doctors are still required to report cases to<!-- -->\u00a0<!-- -->state health departments, which get fed into the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Your foolish and self-indulgent demolition of critical public health programs puts Americans at risk,&#8221; Ossoff wrote. &#8220;The Trump Administration is actively undermining food safety.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Ossoff asked why Cyclospora tracking through FoodNet was terminated and if the CDC has restored tracking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kennedy told ABC News criticisms of the federal response are &#8220;invalid&#8221; saying they&#8217;re &#8220;still doing surveillance in this space.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We had no cuts in our surveillance program. We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance,&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;And all this space will tell you that we&#8217;re still doing forensics. We&#8217;re still doing surveillance in all this space.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Tuesday that the multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak in the U.S. is &#8220;under control.&#8221; It marks one of the first times Kennedy has commented publicly on the parasitic intestinal illness since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was investigating the outbreak&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0261e016-d6f3-410e-9c8e-d1ecf16c4e3e\/kennedy-2-epa-gmh-260721_1784658197332_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}