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Federal health officials said Thursday that a multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has sickened thousands of people has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in five states, confirming key findings first reported by The Washington Post. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said traceback investigators identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. In updates posted to the CDC webpage and FDA webpage late Thursday, officials urged consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in those states while the investigation continues. (Sun and Roubein, 7/16)

Hospitalizations in Michigan linked to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by a parasite, have surpassed 100, health officials said Thursday. So far, 102 people have been hospitalized, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Additionally, cases have topped 4,000, state data shows. Preliminary findings by Michigan health officials suggest lettuce or salad greens as a potential source of the illnesses. However, no specific type of produce, grower or supplier has been identified as the source, and federal health officials have not publicly identified a source of the outbreak. (Benadjaoud and Kekatos, 7/16)

A produce-linked parasite that can cause uncomfortable (and at times dangerous) bouts of “explosive” diarrhea is causing people to think twice before snacking on berries or mixing up a salad. Thousands of people so far have fallen ill with cyclosporiasis, a gastrointestinal illness caused by the cyclospora parasite. The source of this year’s outbreak is not yet confirmed, but in years past the parasite has been found on fresh fruits and vegetables, like lettuce, salad greens, berries, cilantro, green onions, basil and snap peas. (Martichoux, 7/16)

As health officials track cyclosporiasis cases in multiple states, experts note that there are plenty of other parasites that people can contract from food. These fall into two main categories: protozoa -- like Cyclospora, the one causing "explosive diarrhea" right now -- and worms. (Henderson, 7/16)

Seven American aid workers who had been in Congo to fight the Ebola outbreak are quarantining at a new isolation facility in Kenya ‌after the U.S. government introduced travel restrictions, the head of a U.S. charity employing them told Reuters. The aid workers are the first known people to quarantine at the facility, which has sparked huge opposition in Kenya and is at the heart of a legal case in which a court has ordered the work to be suspended. Construction continued however, according to U.S. officials and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters. (Farge, 7/17)

The government of Uganda has gone quiet on an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus that it reported late last month, with the World Health Organization acknowledging Thursday it has made repeated requests for updated information on the status of the investigation into how it started and how far it may have spread. (Branswell, 7/16)

As U.S. measles cases approach last year's record-breaking total, studies on South Carolina and Utah's large outbreaks showed cases of encephalitis and sepsis among the hospitalized patients. In both states, hypoxemia and pneumonia were the most common conditions leading to hospitalization for measles, with some admissions driven by electrolyte abnormalities, sepsis, and shock. (Rudd, 7/16)

Most of the measles patients Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital cared for during South Carolina's recent outbreak were kids aged 10 years or younger. NIHAccording to a letter from the health system's physicians, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Prisma treated 81 people for measles from October 2025 to April 2026. (Boden, 7/16)

Without a doubt, young children are the world's most adorable vectors of disease.Their chubby cheeks. Their dimpled knees. Their sticky, unwashed hands and perpetually runny noses. Their tendency to put absolutely everything they can grab into their mouths.Anyone who has lived with a toddler or preschooler knows that youngsters are avid collectors of germs. And they can’t help sharing them.During the pandemic, a new study suggests, many older adults were infected with COVID-19 around the time of their grandchildren’s birthdays, probably during parties or family gatherings. (Szabo, 7/16)