An explosive diarrhea outbreak, primarily cyclosporiasis, has been spreading across the United States since June, with the national tally nearing 23,000 cases. The outbreak is linked to Taylor Farms' shredded iceberg lettuce grown in Mexico and distributed to Taco Bell and other retailers.

Initially, nine states were identified, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now adding six more, bringing the total to 15 states. These states are Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and North Carolina, in addition to the original cluster. Despite the growing number of affected states, the CDC's and FDA's official outbreak pages have been slow to update, initially listing only nine states and no deaths.

Taylor Farms issued a recall, but has been criticized for a lack of transparency regarding the scope and distribution of the recalled products. While the CDC's updated surveillance indicates cases in 47 states, it remains unclear if these are part of the current 15-state cluster or separate incidents with different sources of contamination.