Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

The updated cyclosporiasis case numbers, released Sunday, show more Missourians have tested positive for the parasite, but the rate of illness is slowing.

Despite a new presidential order, health officials urge parents to stick with longstanding guidance about routine shots.

The cyclosporiasis numbers released Sunday by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services are a 24% increase from the previous week.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services released new numbers Sunday showing 1,577 people in the state have tested positive for the parasite.

Missouri health officials say the CDC has added the state to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to lettuce grown in central Mexico, though the agency has not yet publicly announced the change.

Missouri health officials say increased testing and reporting have contributed to the case count as investigators continue searching for the outbreak's source.

The state usually logs around a dozen or so cases annually of the parasitic disease, which infects the digestive system and causes severe gastrointestinal symptoms.

Cases of the intestinal illness, which can cause explosive diarrhea, rose to nearly 300 this week in Kansas, up from 55 last week, according to numbers from the state.

Missouri health officials said they are confident the number of reported cases reflects exposure to contaminated food inside the state. But investigators are still working to identify the source of the outbreak.

Taylor Farms, a vegetable producer linked to the outbreak, issued a recall of iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 states, including Missouri.

Missouri still has far fewer reported cases of cyclospora, the parasitic infection than other Midwest states. Cylosporiasis symptoms include nausea and watery diarrhea.

The legislature-mandated report reviewed pregnancy-related deaths between 2019 and 2023. During that period, 340 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year after the end of a pregnancy.