How Cyclospora cases compare to the biggest U.S. foodborne outbreaks

By the numbers: The CDC says there are roughly 48 million cases of foodborne illness every year, with 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually.

Here's a rundown of the biggest outbreaks in U.S. history.

1994 Schwan's ice cream (224,000)

One of the biggest known outbreaks in U.S. history happened in 1994 when roughly 224,000 people got sick after eating Schwan's ice cream.

• The patients all suffered from Salmonella infections, which is a common bacterium that causes food poisoning primarily through contaminated eggs.
• The infected products included ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, ice cream sandwiches and cones, according to the CDC.

1985 contaminated milk (160,000-190,000)

A contaminated milk outbreak led to Salmonella cases in hundreds of thousands of people across the United States in 1985, leading to at least 12 deaths.

• Much of the milk appeared to be from Jewel's Hillfarm Dairy.
• Health officials estimate between 168,791 and 197,581 persons were infected because of the outbreak.

2026 Cyclospora (11,000)

The cyclospora outbreak has seen at least 11,000 cases across 45 states, the CDC says. There have been no deaths related to the outbreak.

• It comes as infrastructure to test, report, and identify sources for the outbreak is limited.

'Reality check: The comparison to other outbreaks isn't completely lettuce-to-lettuce. The cyclospora outbreak hasn't identified a single source, whereas other outbreaks have been traced to one single source.

The intrigue: Health officials pointed to fresh produce as the main cause of the outbreak, specifically from Taylor Farms, which is sold at Taco Bell.

2010 shell eggs (3,578)

An outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis from eggs led to at least 3,578 cases from May to November 2010, according to the CDC.

• More than 550 million eggs were recalled because of the outbreak.

2006 contaminated milk devastates prisons (1,600)

An outbreak of contaminated milk affected thousands of inmates at multiple California prisons in 2006.

• The roughly 1,600 illnesses were linked to processing contamination of pasteurized milk from a single prison dairy.

1924 raw oysters and typhoid fever (1,500)

An outbreak of raw oysters exposed to polluted water caused typhoid fever to infect 1,500 people — causing at least 150 deaths.

• Outbreaks were reported in major cities like Chicago, New York and Washington.

2008 Jalapeño and serrano peppers (1,442)

At least 1,442 people were infected with Salmonella from an outbreak related to raw produce in 2008, the CDC says.

• Tomatoes were believed to be the culprit before researchers discovered peppers were mostly to blame.

2015 cucumbers (907)

The CDC investigated a Salmonella outbreak tied to raw cucumbers imported from Mexico back in 2015.

• There were 907 total infections across 40 states, the CDC said.
• An estimated 204 people were hospitalized and six people died from the infections, per the CDC.

2009 peanuts (714)

The CDC said there were 714 illnesses and nine deaths across 46 states from a Salmonella infection outbreak tied to multiple peanut products.

1993 hamburgers (500)

In 1993, there was an outbreak of E. coli that infected more than 500 people and four deaths across four states — Washington, Idaho, California and Nevada, according to the CDC.

• The E. coli illnesses were primarily connected to hamburger patties eaten at a single restaurant chain: Jack in the Box fast-food restaurants.