U.S. health officials announce the end of the largest recorded cyclospora (cyclosporiasis) food poisoning outbreak in the country. Multiple outlets report that the event is over as of late Friday, following a multi-state surge of parasitic diarrheal illness linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce.
All sources agree that nearly 13,000 cases were tied to the outbreak, representing the bulk of an unprecedented increase in reported infections. The outlets also note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is confident that recalled iceberg lettuce associated with this specific outbreak is no longer on the market.
While outlets converge on the same outcome and the scale of the outbreak, they differ mainly in emphasis. Some focus on the officials’ declaration that the outbreak has ended, while others stress that investigations have not identified the outbreak’s origin or the specific source of contamination. Coverage also reflects differences in how explicitly each outlet details the FDA’s confidence about product removal and its relationship to reported case counts.
