What to know about cyclospora after second Washoe case announced 15%
By Brett McGinness11%
8/7/2026, 1:43:15 PM
Keywords: Cyclospora, Washoe County, Nevada, Outbreak, Foodborne Illness, Public Health, Lettuce Recall
BS Summary: This article contains 15 faulty reasoning types, including Indoctrination, Ambiguity (Equivocation), and Biased Writer Voice, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 8% saturation with 55 hits. Analysis detected 393 faulty-reasoning hits from 691 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 24% and a BS Rank of 15% (26,061 of 30,584 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 85.20% of the article peer group.
A second case of cyclosporiasis has been reported in Washoe County, but officials with Northern Nevada Public Health and the University of Nevada, Reno say there's little concern for those worried about contracting the illness through local sources.
The latest confirmed patient is a woman in her 70s who is believed to have contracted the illness while traveling, NNPH announced Thursday.
The first reported case this year in Washoe County was a patient in his 70s who had recently traveled to the Midwest.
Michigan and Ohio have been the epicenters of the outbreak, with more than 15,000 cases reported between the two states.
The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration traced the outbreak to iceberg lettuce grown by Taylor Farms in central Mexico.
Taylor Farms reported that 27 states had received potentially contaminated produce, but Nevada was not one of them.
"We have had no indication so far that there has been any local exposure or linkage to any contaminated products here in Northern Nevada, particularly Washoe County, at this time," Dr.
Kellie Watkins, NNPH epidemiology program manager, told the RGJ.
Nevada has identified just five cases so far tied to this summer's outbreak — two in Washoe County and three in Southern Nevada — and all five patients reported travel to affected areas prior to the onset of symptoms.
Taylor Farms issued a recall in July of iceberg lettuce shipped from central Mexico to 27 states between June 29 and July 16.
All states subject to the recall are east of the Rocky Mountains:
Alabama
Arkansas
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maryland
Michigan
Missouri
Mississippi
North Carolina
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Wisconsin
Despite Taylor Farms' broad 27-state recall, only 15 states have reported cyclosporiasis cases that originated locally.
As of late July, only Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Mexico and South Carolina had no cases diagnosed.
In many of the other 45 states, including Nevada, patients acquired the illness during travel to affected areas.
Iceberg lettuce continues to be the focus of the investigation by the CDC, FDA and local health officials in affected areas.
"Other food items cannot necessarily be completely ruled out," Watkins said.
"But most of the investigative data and outbreak data continue to converge on that shredded iceberg lettuce."
Is cyclosporiasis contagious from person to person?
In a word: no.
"You're not going to catch it through airborne exposure or close contact," Watkins told the RGJ.
Patients become infected by eating food or drinking liquids contaminated with the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite.
Cyclospora symptoms to watch for
The most common symptom is watery, frequent and sometimes "explosive" diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cleveland Clinic, though other troubles can include:
Vomiting
Dry mouth
Appetite loss
Bloating, including burping and gas, or stomach cramps
Fatigue
Fever
Nausea
Experts say otherwise healthy people shouldn't be overly concerned about the outbreak, noting that those who died from cyclosporiasis in Michigan had multiple underlying conditions that exacerbated the illness.
"A person who's healthy need not worry about extreme adverse events," Angeline Jeyakumar, assistant professor with the University of Nevada Department of Nutrition, told the RGJ.
"Any diarrheal episodes can lead to dehydration, and dehydration is the cause of death — not the organism as such.
If (patients) stay well-hydrated, that can be prevented."
Jeyakumar recommended that patients recovering at home be given oral rehydration solutions with electrolytes (that is, commercially available beverages like Pedialyte, Gatorade and Powerade).
Avoiding fresh produce has its own adverse effects
The two recent deaths in Michigan may have some people avoiding vegetables altogether, a strategy which has its own detrimental effects on health.
"Fresh fruits and vegetables provide protective nutrients," Jeyakumar said.
"Fiber is essential for gut health.
People should not refrain from fresh produce overall."
For those concerned about how their food is processed, Jeyakumar recommends blanching lettuce and preparing cooked vegetable dishes.
"The fear factor should be removed," she said.
"Mindful eating is the key to addressing this issue."
USA TODAY's Mary Walrath-Holdridge contributed to this report.
Speakers
3speakers36%attributed speech439writer words
Selected voice
85%flagged-word coverageKellie Watkins
75 attributed words30% of attributed speech27% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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