Dallas County Health Department reports decline in new cyclosporiasis cases amid national outbreak
DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa —
Iowa is among the latest states added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of states affected by the national cyclosporiasis outbreak.
Taylor Farms announced a recall July 17 covering products containing its iceberg lettuce with expiration dates ranging from July 16 through Aug. 3.
The number of cyclosporiasis cases varies among Iowa counties, and not every reported case is connected to the outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Iowa has between 50 and 199 cases of laboratory-confirmed, domestically acquired cyclosporiasis. As of Aug. 6, the Iowa Health and Human Services Department said there were 272 cases of the illness in 55 counties in the state.
Dallas County tops the list with the highest number of confirmed cases in the state.
The Dallas County Health Department, however, says it is beginning to see a decline in new cases.
Dallas County recorded five cases in all of 2025. Since July, the county has reported 66 cases, according to the Dallas County Health Department’s community health administrator, Abigail Coder.
“The cases we’ve seen — not all of them, but a majority of them — have been linked to the Michigan outbreak with the lettuce from Taylor Farms,” Coder said.
Coder said the department is no longer seeing many recent infections. Cases now under investigation appear to be connected to infections that occurred in early July.
“It’s likely still linked to that larger outbreak and the food that has been recalled. It’s gone,” Coder said. “It’s off the shelves. It’s out of the restaurants. The lettuce is not shelf stable, so it’s either in the compost bin or the landfill, and it shouldn’t be causing harm.”
Coder advised people to contact a doctor as soon as possible if they experience diarrhea lasting more than a couple of days.