by Andrey Bulkin
[REGNUM] The summer of 2026 in the United States will be remembered not only for extreme heat and wildfires, but also for a massive outbreak of a disease nicknamed "explosive diarrhea." This is cyclosporiasis, a rare intestinal infection caused by the single-celled parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis.
This microscopic organism infects the small intestine and is transmitted through water or poorly washed foods, most commonly berries, greens, and salad, and is especially common in hot climates. The main and most severe symptom is severe watery diarrhea, accompanied by loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, and severe fatigue.
The incubation period is about a week; without treatment, the illness can last a month or longer. Although cyclosporiasis is not considered fatal, it poses a serious risk to people with weakened immune systems, the elderly, and children due to dehydration and other complications.
According to those who have suffered from it, the illness is extremely painful and quickly debilitates. "You completely lose control. It's not fun at all... if you have this, you need to be near the toilet at all times," said 29-year-old food blogger Christina Hart from Tennessee, who was sick for three weeks and lost about 15 pounds.
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Another patient from Ohio even said she felt like she was "at death's door." And a patient from Arkansas admitted she "wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."
It all started several months ago, but by mid-August the epidemic had reached its peak.
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Almost every state except Delaware, New Mexico, and Hawaii have been affected. At least 828 people have been hospitalized, and Michigan has recorded its first two deaths related to the outbreak. Both had serious underlying health conditions, which were exacerbated by severe dehydration associated with cyclosporiasis, leading to their deaths.
The investigation revealed that the outbreak was directly linked to iceberg lettuce from Mexico. Back in July 2026, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an investigation into the outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell fast food restaurants in five states.
FDA investigators quickly traced the supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico. Analysis showed that 90% of those who had been infected and had eaten at Taco Bell had eaten iceberg lettuce.
As a result, the company voluntarily recalled all iceberg lettuce from central Mexico from the U.S. market. However, while the source was being investigated, the disease had already spread.
As details of the investigation became known, the clouds began to gather. It emerged that this was far from the first serious food safety incident for Taylor Farms. Between 2009 and 2026, the company's products were linked to more than a dozen food poisoning outbreaks. And each time, the company followed the same pattern: denying responsibility and citing negative test results.
In 2013, when it was linked to another cyclospora outbreak, the FDA found deficiencies in the company's product washing system. Employees were washing salad mixes with insufficiently treated wastewater, but Bruce Taylor, the company's founder and CEO, stated that "all tests are negative, and there is no evidence of cyclospora in our products."
In 2024, when onions supplied by Taylor Farms to McDonald's caused an E. coli outbreak that resulted in one fatality, the company again insisted that tests "found no trace" of the dangerous bacteria that caused the tragedy.
Each time, the company managed to emerge unscathed. The specific nature of the business played a significant role in this.
Food safety attorney Bill Marler explains Taylor Farms' tactics this way: "People eat the evidence. The food they test is not the food they eat."
So, by the time a person eats a salad, gets sick, sees a doctor, undergoes specific tests, and authorities connect the cases, about a month has passed. As a result, when testing is initiated, completely different batches of greens are sent for testing, in which nothing is found.
A former senior FDA official who asked to remain anonymous said the 2024 outbreak investigation clearly found the company at fault, but it "went to great lengths" to keep the FDA from naming it publicly.
The scandal surrounding Taylor Farms is exacerbated by its political ties. According to Federal Election Commission records, the company has repeatedly made generous donations to Republicans, often in the high six-figure range. Bruce Taylor admitted to Forbes that these donations provided him with the opportunity to discuss the negative impact of tariffs on his business.
Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat, said in a letter to Bruce Taylor that the company's actions indicate an attempt to use political connections and donations to influence the FDA investigation.
Meanwhile, the outbreak has hit not only the nation's health but also the economy. According to a survey, more than 26 million American households stopped buying lettuce and other fresh greens in July. Overall fresh lettuce sales fell by nearly 9% compared to the same period last year.
Not only lettuce suffered, but also cauliflower, carrots, spinach, and even salad dressings. Fast food chains also felt the impact: traffic at Taco Bell, the chain implicated in the outbreak, fell by almost 20%.
Farmers, in turn, found themselves in dire straits. One producer reported that he had to destroy over 130 tons of lettuce, even though his produce was not contaminated—orders simply fell by a third.
The outbreak also caused serious damage to the nation, exposing critical vulnerabilities in the food safety system. These vulnerabilities have been exacerbated by funding cuts to the CDC and FDA under the current administration.
CDC grants to states were cut by 40%—approximately $5.8 billion. As a result, parasite research laboratories were closed, pathogen monitoring was halted, and the implementation of a food traceability system was delayed.
The FoodNet program, which monitors foodborne diseases, was forced to stop tracking six of its eight pathogens, including Cyclospora. Two USDA laboratories in Maryland, which were conducting complex research on the parasite, effectively shut down operations.
The situation is no better at the local level: in West Virginia, for example, about half of the sanitary inspector positions are vacant, and qualification requirements have been lowered. Bob Custard, head of the West Virginia Association of Sanitary Inspectors, compared the current situation to a house in which "they decided to remove the smoke detectors."
Delays in response and a lack of clear information from authorities only exacerbated the panic. Professor Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research, lamented, "We were so late in providing information to the public. By the time we get any risk-mitigation recommendations, the outbreak is already over."
According to him, the investigation was handled by the CDC's Parasitic Diseases Division, whose staff is "very inexperienced in this kind of matter." The difficulty also lies in the parasite's unique characteristics: it cannot be replicated for laboratory testing, making it difficult to detect.
Particularly outrageous is the fact that a number of measures capable of preventing or at least mitigating such outbreaks have been postponed under pressure from food industry bigwigs. Specifically, the food traceability law, passed back in 2011.
It requires manufacturers and distributors to maintain extensive records of the origin of ingredients, allowing for the source of contamination to be traced within 24 hours. However, due to lobbying from the food industry, implementation of this rule was delayed and ultimately postponed until July 2028—a full 17 years after the law's passage.
Since 2025 alone, Taylor Farms has spent $810,000 lobbying Congress and the Department of Agriculture on "food industry regulation," and it's far from the only major player in the market.
As the Brennan Center rightly points out, the food industry's success in delaying precautions that could have mitigated the deadly food poisoning outbreak is an example of why the public feels betrayed.
Public opinion polls have shown that 47% of US residents do not trust the effectiveness of government measures. Another study found that only one in four Americans believes government health information is reliable.
Finally, climate factors cannot be ignored. Cyclospora thrives in warm, humid environments, and climate change, which makes summers hotter and longer, is extending its breeding season. Furthermore, in the US, over 700 million tons of treated wastewater are used annually for irrigation.
Research shows that Cyclospora oocysts (one of the parasite's developmental stages) can persist in wastewater even after treatment, and standard chlorination is ineffective against them. With droughts becoming more frequent, the use of wastewater for irrigation will only increase, increasing the risk of contamination.
So, explosive diarrhea turned out to be more than just an annoying nuisance, but a symptom of serious problems at the national level. And if American society and its leaders fail to learn from this outbreak, future ones could be far more widespread and dangerous.
"We need to rethink our approach. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result," said Frank Yiannas, a former senior FDA official.