Lettuce responsible for US 'explosive diarrhoea' outbreak traced back to popular fast food chain

After cases of explosive diarrhoea caused by a parasite known as cyclospora have been sweeping the United States, officials have been identified the cause - and it’s all connected to lettuce supplied by a popular fast food chain.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has connected the parasite outbreak causing serious gastrointestinal issues across the United States to lettuce delivered to a fast food chain across five states, according to two federal officials who didn’t wish to be named.

The CDC has identified shredded iceberg lettuce as the culprit in the sudden spike of diarrhoea cases in the US, with the agency warning the public not to eat the leafy veggie sent to Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Shredded lettuce has been identified as the source of the spike in cyclosporiasis cases. (Getty Stock Images)

The agency also confirmed that more than 1,644 people reported suffering from some gastrointestinal issues and contracting cyclosporiasis — the illness caused by a microscopic parasite known as Cyclospora cayetanensis - after eating at Taco Bell. As per The New York Times, 94 people were hospitalised, according to the CDC.

Officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also confirmed that the lettuce in question was grown by a single supplier in Mexico and suggested that other restaurants and stores might be implicated.

In a statement released last night, Taco Bell said it was voluntarily removing all potentially affected lettuce it had received from a supplier in select states. While Taco Bell didn’t publicly identify the supplier, the restaurant chain said that the lettuce from that supplier would be ‘indefinitely removed’ from its supply chain across the US and would be replaced quickly.

It isn't clear whether the lettuce has been supplied to other restaurants or supermarkets. (Getty Stock Images)

Currently, the US is on track to record a record number of cyclospora cases this year, with more than 1,600 confirmed cases as of Monday, 13 July.

Of the thousands of cases, some diagnosed with cyclosporiasis have been rushed to hospital with symptoms including nausea, fatigue, bloating, and explosive, watery diarrhoea, as per Dr Omer Awan, University of Maryland School of Medicine. The medical expert also confirmed that diarrhoea could last up to three days for those contracting a simple stomach bug, but symptoms can extend to much longer with cyclospora.

The issue can persist for ‘weeks, if not months’ and the incubation period for symptoms is around two weeks.

In a statement shared earlier this week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) first suggested that lettuce was a common denominator in several cases, saying that initial research suggested that ‘lettuce or salad greens’ could be the potential ‘source for this outbreak’.

“Although we do not have a definite product identified as the source of the outbreak, we want to let Michiganders know what we have learned so far, so they can take steps to protect their families,” said Dr Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.

“Early information has shown lettuce as a common product that regularly comes up during the investigation.”