Alfalfa sprouts sicken 55; Wisconsin measles reaches 36: Health risk update, Aug. 15–21, 2026

The week's signal

The new household-level risk this week is a multistate outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts. CDC and FDA report 55 illnesses in 15 states, 4 hospitalizations, and 0 deaths as of August 21. The illnesses involve three Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains and Salmonella Agona. FDA says the implicated sprouts were grown by Everything Sprouts, LLC and sold under the Calco and Everything Sprouts brands. 1 2

The immediate action is simple: check the refrigerator, freezer, restaurant inventory, and wholesale stock for those two brands. Do not eat, sell, or serve the sprouts. Throw them away or return them, then clean and sanitize any surface or container they touched. 2

This issue covers official updates published or materially updated from August 15 through August 21, 2026, with a Friday cutoff at 5 p.m. ET.

Actions for households, travelers, and facilities

Alert	Who should act	What to do now
Calco and Everything Sprouts alfalfa sprouts	Households, restaurants, retailers, and foodservice customers in the 15 states with reported cases: FL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, NH, NY, NC, ND, PA, SC, SD, WA, and WI	Do not eat, sell, or serve the sprouts. Check frozen product even when the original package is missing; discard it when you cannot identify it. Clean and sanitize surfaces and containers that the sprouts touched. FDA says the distribution investigation remains ongoing. 2
Outshine Fruit Bars	Anyone with Outshine Strawberry, Watermelon, Grape, Tangerine, or Black Cherry 6-count 2.5-ounce bars, or the 24-count 2.5-ounce Variety Pack; retailers nationwide	Check the package for the FDA-listed batch codes and best-before dates. The recall concerns possible glass contamination. Discard or return an affected product for a refund. No illnesses or injuries had been reported when FDA posted the recall. 3
B. Braun Excel Lactated Ringers Injection, 1000 mL	Hospitals and healthcare facilities with lot J4H077, product catalog L7500, NDC 0264-7750-00, expiration 30NOV2026	Quarantine the lot and return it through the purchasing channel. The solution contains particulate matter, including cellulose fibers and polystyrene; intravenous use may cause emboli, vascular occlusion, phlebitis, immune activation, organ dysfunction, or hemolysis. Report suspected adverse events through FDA MedWatch. 4
Southern Iowa measles exposures	People who visited the listed Clive, West Des Moines, Des Moines, or Bloomfield locations during the July 28, July 30, or August 9 windows; anyone who is not immune	Iowa reported 12 confirmed cases with person-to-person spread as of August 16. Monitor for fever, cough, runny nose, red or watery eyes, and rash. Call a clinician before arrival if symptoms follow a possible exposure. People who are unvaccinated or unsure of immunity should ask a healthcare professional or local health department about MMR vaccination. 5
Southwestern Wisconsin measles outbreak	Residents of Grant, Lafayette, and Iowa counties, their households, and clinicians evaluating compatible illness	Wisconsin reported 36 confirmed and 3 probable cases in the regional outbreak on August 18. Check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or contact a clinician or local health department. Anyone with symptoms should stay home and call before visiting a clinic, workplace, school, store, or on public transportation. 6
Ebola travel to the DRC	Travelers planning to visit or transit through the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan	CDC assigns Level 4, avoid all travel, to Ituri and Nord-Kivu; Level 3, avoid nonessential travel, to Haut-Uélé and Tshopo; and enhanced precautions to other DRC provinces. Travelers who were in the DRC within 21 days of a flight to the United States cannot board commercial flights with U.S. destinations. Monitor symptoms during travel and for 21 days after leaving; isolate, do not travel, and call ahead if symptoms begin. 7

What the outbreak numbers mean

The alfalfa-sprout illnesses did not all begin this week. CDC reports illness-onset dates from May 31 through August 8, while the public alert was published on August 21. Of 34 people interviewed, 26 reported eating alfalfa sprouts. Recent illnesses may take three to four weeks to become linked to an outbreak, so the case count can rise after the implicated product is removed. 1

Cyclospora surveillance also moved this week. CDC's August 18 update counted 15,716 laboratory-confirmed cases acquired in the United States, 828 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths from May 1 through August 17. Cases were reported in 47 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The median illness-onset date was July 7, and CDC expects about six weeks between symptom onset and receipt of case information. 8

The Cyclospora total includes the ongoing outbreak linked to processed iceberg lettuce from central Mexico and at least six other clusters whose sources remain unconfirmed. The practical action is to follow a specific recall or outbreak notice when one exists, and for clinicians to report suspected cases according to local health-department practices. 8

CDC's August 21 Ebola page shows the DRC outbreak at 4,665 confirmed cases on its comparison chart, with the DRC data marked as of August 19. The page says no case associated with this outbreak has been confirmed in the United States and continues to rate the risk to the American public and travelers as low. The DRC total and the travel restrictions answer different questions: one describes reported disease in the affected country, while the other determines what a traveler must do before entering the United States. 7

Travel and vaccine watch

WHO and Africa CDC reported on August 20 that the International Coordinating Group released 70,000 Ervebo doses for the DRC response: 20,000 doses for a Phase 3 clinical trial and 50,000 doses for frontline and health workers. Ervebo is licensed for Ebola virus disease caused by Zaire ebolavirus; researchers do not yet know whether it protects people against Bundibugyo virus disease. The trial is intended to generate evidence for future policy, and people offered the vaccine should receive information about its potential benefits, risks, and limits before giving informed consent. 9

CDC also released 2025–2026 kindergarten vaccination coverage data on August 17. Overall coverage remained high, while coverage declined by 0.1 percentage points. CDC encouraged parents to discuss vaccination options with their doctors. The release reports program status; it does not announce a new routine U.S. vaccine schedule. 10

The current routine-schedule signal is therefore practical: families should check each child's records before school, and people who may have been exposed to measles should ask promptly about vaccination and post-exposure guidance. Iowa and Wisconsin health departments both emphasize calling ahead before arriving with symptoms.

State and clinical signals

The Iowa and Wisconsin measles alerts carry the same household action even though their case counts differ. Measles symptoms usually appear about 10 to 21 days after exposure. A person with fever, cough, red or watery eyes, runny nose, or rash should stay away from other people and call the medical office before arrival so staff can protect other patients. 5 6

A new CDC MMWR report published August 20 reviewed 5,322 U.S. mpox cases reported during 2024–2025. The report found that unvaccinated patients had 9.7 times the odds of hospitalization compared with patients who completed the two-dose JYNNEOS series, after adjustment for age group and HIV status. The report concerns earlier surveillance data, so it does not announce a new outbreak count for this week. Its action remains current for people at risk for mpox exposure: complete the recommended two-dose JYNNEOS series, including when a travel itinerary involves a country with ongoing clade I or clade II transmission. 11

For clinicians, the recalled B. Braun fluid deserves a stock check even though the distribution occurred in 2024. FDA's August 19 notice identifies one lot distributed nationwide and to Canada at the hospital and healthcare-facility level. Facilities should check inventory records, quarantine lot J4H077, arrange return and replacement, and review any patient event that could be related to particulate infusion. 4

Bottom line

Check refrigerators, freezers, restaurant supplies, and wholesale stock for Calco and Everything Sprouts alfalfa sprouts. Discard or return them and sanitize every surface they touched.
Check Outshine Fruit Bars against FDA's batch-code list, and quarantine B. Braun Lactated Ringers lot J4H077 in every facility inventory.
Review MMR records for children and adults in Iowa, Wisconsin, or households with possible measles exposure. Call ahead before seeking care for compatible symptoms.
Verify Ebola destination levels and U.S. entry rules before any DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan itinerary. Monitor for symptoms for 21 days after leaving an affected area.
Ask about JYNNEOS when the person or itinerary fits the mpox risk group. CDC's kindergarten coverage release is a coverage update, not a new routine-schedule vote.