CDC says lab-confirmed US cases of cyclosporiasis top 1,600, expects count to rise

Lab-confirmed cases linked to a U.S. outbreak of cyclosporiasis have risen to 1,645, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on ​Tuesday, up by more than 800 cases from its last update a week ago.

Cases have now been reported ⁠across 34 states, and have resulted in 141 hospitalizations as ‌of July 13, according to the ​health agency. No deaths have been reported.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection that can be contracted by consuming food — typically raw fruits and vegetables — ⁠or water contaminated with feces, according ‌to the U.S. CDC.

While ‌the United States has experienced outbreaks of the gastrointestinal illness before, the scale ⁠and geographic spread of this year’s outbreak are significantly larger, prompting concern among health officials.

The ‌agency cautioned that there ‌is a roughly six-week lag between the onset of illness and the reporting of cases, ⁠which means more infections are likely to ​be identified as ⁠additional ​data is received.

The CDC said it is also aware of more than 5,100 additional cases that require further analysis and confirmation.

The current ⁠U.S. outbreak, which began on May 1, is centered in Michigan, with Ohio and New York also reporting ⁠high numbers of cases.

Separately, Michigan health officials on Tuesday reported 3,309 cases in the state, an increase of 669 cases since ⁠the last update on ‌Monday.

U.S. health officials have not identified ​the source ‌of contamination and are tracing foods linked ​to cases through the supply chain, potentially to the farm level, using genetic sequencing where needed.