The Rhode Island Department of Health has some fairly specific advice about what to avoid if you don't want to catch the chronic diarrhea parasite that's been making the rounds.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and public health officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections, some of which have now been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in 5 states," the health department said in a media release.
"On Thursday night, CDC and FDA advised consumers to not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia," the release said.
There are 12 Taco Bells in Rhode Island.
In addition to avoiding shredded lettuce at Taco Bells in the five states in question, the health department shared some additional pointers for eluding the diarrhea parasite, including hand washing, washing fruits and vegetables, cutting away damaged or bruised areas on fruits and vegetables, and cooking produce.
Cyclosporiasis can cause relentless watery diarrhea that has sickened about 1,700 people in more than two dozen states, including Rhode Island, since mid-May, although the Ocean state was hardly the hardest hit.
"Rhode Island is not currently seeing an abnormally high number of cases of cyclosporiasis," the release said, noting there have been six cases so far in 2026 compared to six in all of 2025 and 12 in 2024
"There is no indication that any of Rhode Island’s cases this year are associated with cyclosporiasis clusters in other states, or with a common food source," according to the release.
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