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The US faces its largest cyclospora outbreak to date as health officials investigate the source of the parasite.

The US is currently experiencing its largest cyclospora outbreak to date, with more than 11,500 confirmed and suspected cases across 41 states. The parasite, which causes intestinal illness characterized by watery diarrhea, has been difficult to track due to its long incubation period and the fact that it cannot be cultured in a laboratory. Unlike bacterial outbreaks like Salmonella, investigators must rely on heavy pattern recognition and food interviews to identify common exposures. Health officials have linked a major nine-state outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and distributed by Taylor Farms. The administration announced that the FDA is investigating several clusters, including a 72-case cluster with no known source. Experts note that food industry consolidation has amplified the scale of the outbreak, as centralized distribution networks carry contamination from local sources to a national level. While some experts argue that larger operations have more sophisticated safety systems, others warn that the bigger the supplier, the greater the opportunity for contamination to spread widely across the country.

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