What to know about the latest food outbreaks in the US linked to lettuce, jalapeños

There are currently two major food outbreaks in the U.S: cyclosporiasis cases tied to iceberg lettuce and salmonella cases tied to jalapeños.

Health officials are hopeful that with the contaminated products now pulled from the market, the number of new cases will begin to decline.

Here's what you need to know about both outbreaks, including where infections have been detected and what the response has been from federal health agencies.

Cyclosporiasis

Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic intestinal illness. Symptoms begin two days to two weeks after exposure and include watery diarrhea, fatigue and loss of appetite.

An outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce has seen at least 6,358 cases, including 278 hospitalizations and two deaths, according to data from the CDC.

Currently, 15 states have reported cases linked to the shredded iceberg lettuce outbreak: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Originally, illnesses were isolated to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell in nine states. However, health officials have found that the lettuce was also distributed to food services, retail stores and restaurants.

The lettuce was sourced in central Mexico and distributed by Taylor Farms. Last month, Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico..

While other states are also reporting more illnesses, they have yet to be directly tied to the shredded iceberg lettuce outbreak. The CDC has reported more than 22,000 cases across 47 states. It is possible there are other contaminated sources leading to illnesses, which health officials are investigating.

Salmonella

Salmonella is a bacterial illness with symptoms that begin six hours to six days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.

An outbreak directly linked to now-recalled jalapeños has so far seen 346 cases in 27 states, including 26 hospitalizations, according to CDC data. No deaths have been reported so far.

States with cases include Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The recalled fresh jalapeños were sourced from Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors to wholesalers and restaurants, including Chipotle and Qdoba.

Both restaurants have removed the jalapeños from their stores, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Response from health officials

There may be more illnesses and more states experiencing cases, however, linking cases to contaminated products is an arduous task. It requires health officials to call sick people and ask what they ate in the days and weeks preceding their illness.

Tracking cyclosporiasis is especially difficult because symptoms can take two weeks to show up and many people don't remember what they ate that far back.

Former health officials tell ABC News they are worried that recent staff and funding cuts across the CDC and FDA could be contributing to a slower response to the outbreaks.

During President Donald Trump's second term, the FDA has lost about 20% of its staff while the CDC is down 25%.

One CDC laboratory team working on domestic surveillance of cyclospora and malaria dropped from 11 people to three, according to Dr. Joel Barratt, who was the team's lead until his resignation last year.

Barratt noted that the decline was due to the hiring freeze as many of the employees were on one-year contracts.

"I think ultimately it's a numbers game," he told ABC News. "When you have fewer hands-on-deck, things are slower. I think it's as simple as that. And I think having people who are less experienced in particular pathogens does also slow things as well."

The bulk of the on-the-ground work is often done by state and local health departments, which typically rely heavily on federal funding, which has declined in recent years.

The HHS has said it has taken parasitic foodborne diseases into consideration when developing the president's budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

"The proposed $33 million increase in food safety funding would strengthen domestic food safety activities, including work related to cyclosporiasis and other parasitic diseases," the HHS said, adding that the CDC has "a dedicated team supporting the ongoing cyclospora response and continues to work closely with FDA and health departments in all 50 states."

Additionally, the HHS said the FDA has proposed extending the compliance date for the Food Traceability Rule to July 20, 2028.

The Food Traceability Rule requires businesses that manufacture, process, pack or hold specific high-risk foods to maintain detailed electronic records.

"In the meantime, FDA is continuing to engage with regulated entities on implementation, including the rule's lot-level tracking requirements, identifying flexibilities where appropriate, and providing technical assistance to support industry readiness before the compliance date," HHS said in a statement.