UK health officials are urging travellers to be more careful with food and water precautions after a sharp rise in cyclospora infections among people returning from Mexico. The warning follows a BMJ report published on 31 July 2026, which said the UK Health Security Agency had recorded 67 cases in the UK between 30 April and 15 July, most of them in people who had recently returned from Mexico.
Cases rise as officials track an international outbreak
The BMJ reported that the increase in UK cases came alongside a larger outbreak in the United States, where more than 18,000 people across 45 states were affected, including 6,707 laboratory-confirmed cases. The report also noted that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert on 24 July after a cyclospora outbreak linked to people in nine states who had eaten iceberg lettuce sourced from Mexico.
Cyclospora is an intestinal infection that can spread through contaminated food or water, and officials are reminding travellers that careful hygiene remains important, particularly in destinations where outbreaks are being monitored. The BMJ said the UK cases represented a notable increase compared with the annual average of 93 cases recorded between 2022 and 2025.
Travel advice focuses on prevention
Health advice in outbreaks like this typically centres on avoiding unsafe drinking water, choosing food carefully, and paying attention to washing and handling practices. In this case, the warning is aimed especially at people travelling to Mexico or returning from the country, where the majority of the UK-linked infections were reported.
The latest figures add to a busy summer of medical news in the UK, with clinicians and public health teams also tracking other infectious disease concerns. For now, officials are treating the cyclospora rise as a reminder that foodborne illness can spread quickly across borders when outbreaks emerge.
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