Depending on where you look, each state in this outbreak has as many as three different case counts, and they rarely match. The CDC’s public map reports a range of lab-confirmed, domestically acquired cases. Each state health department keeps its own tally, which usually mixes confirmed and probable cases and runs higher. And the press, polling those departments day to day, often carries a third figure. The chart and maps below put all three side by side, state by state.
The national totals tell the same story in one line. As of July 13–14, the CDC’s map shows 1,645 lab-confirmed cases. The CDC says it is aware of nearly 7,000 once the more than 5,100 cases still under investigation are counted — the figure the media is now reporting nationally. And the eleven states that publish their own numbers already sum to roughly 4,900 on their own, triple what the CDC’s map shows.
| Suspected source. No source has been confirmed and no recall has been issued. Michigan, based on more than 1,000 interviews with people who tested positive, has pointed to lettuce and bagged salad greens. The CDC and FDA are investigating a possible link to Taco Bell, and several Taco Bell locations have voluntarily pulled lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro, and onions from their menus. Michigan officials are advising people to buy whole heads of lettuce rather than pre-packaged bags. |
The counts also disagree for structural reasons, not because anyone is lying. They use different cutoff dates, the CDC reports only what it has confirmed as domestic while states report what they see, and there is roughly a six-week lag between illness and the federal tally. Ohio shows the split at its widest: the CDC bins it at 1 to 10, the state’s last official release counted 177, and reporters now put it near 400. Washington shows the opposite — a state where all three roughly agree it is low: King County reports 15 cases but only about one acquired locally, and the state reports no surge.
Each state’s three numbers, with national totals and the suspected source boxed at right. The band is the CDC bin; the filled dot (●) is the state health department’s count; the open ring (○) is the current media figure.
The same comparison as three maps, each with its running total: what the CDC counts (1,645), what the states say (~4,900 across 11 states), and what the media reports (~7,000 nationally).
Every state with a published number, where each number comes from, and the national totals:
| State | CDC bin | State dept. | Media | Source(s) |
| Michigan | 501–900 | 3,309 | 3,309 | MDHHS; TODAY (Jul 14) |
| New York | 161–300 | ~394 | ~394 | NY DOH; TODAY (Jul 9) |
| Ohio | 1–10 | 177 | ~400 | ODH release (Jul 2); WOIO (Jul 14) |
| North Carolina | 81–160 | 240 | 240 | NC DHHS; NBC (Jul 13) |
| Illinois | 31–80 | 216 | 216 | IDPH; NBC (Jul 14) |
| Indiana | 31–80 | 206 | 206 | Indiana DOH; NBC |
| Kentucky | 31–80 | 100 † | 100 | KDPH (Jul 13) |
| Colorado | 1–10 | 90 | 90 | CO Public Health; NBC |
| West Virginia | 11–30 | 69 | 69 | WV OEPS (Jul 13) |
| Florida | 11–30 | 50 | 50 | FL DOH Merlin (Jul 4); CBS (Jul 9) |
| Texas | 31–80 | 48 | 48 | Texas DSHS (Jul 6); TODAY |
| Washington | 1–10 | 15 ‡ | 15 | PH–Seattle & King County (Jul 12) |
| National total | 1,645 conf. | ~4,900 | ~7,000 | CDC (map / incl. under investigation); state depts. |
Totals: “1,645 confirmed” is the CDC’s lab-confirmed domestic count (the map). “~4,900” is the sum of the eleven outbreak-state health-department counts above; Washington is shown for reference but excluded, as its cases are mostly travel-related. “~7,000” is the CDC’s confirmed-plus-under-investigation figure as reported nationally by the press. † Kentucky: 100 reported statewide, 61 lab-confirmed. ‡ Washington: 15 cases in King County (Seattle), only about one acquired locally — the rest travel-related; the state reports no local surge, so unlike the outbreak states its cases are mostly imported. Florida earlier appeared in the press as 11, a stale CDC-derived figure, while the state’s Merlin system reports 50. A separate 440 travel-associated cases nationwide are not included here. Figures as reported roughly July 2–14, 2026, and still moving.