Washington DC - Federal officials on Friday pinned the source of a diarrhea-causing foodborne parasite as shredded iceberg lettuce used by the fast food chain Taco Bell.

A federal investigation by the Food and Drug Administration into the sudden wave of cases traced the contamination source back to a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico, which was used by Taco Bell locations in five states, according to a statement from the Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC said that more than 1,644 people in five states – Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia – were confirmed to be infected with cyclosporiasis, which can cause "explosive diarrhea" among other symptoms.

There have been no deaths and 94 hospitalizations related to that outbreak, the health agency said.

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The CDC said that those illnesses were lab-confirmed and linked specifically to the outbreak at Taco Bell locations in those states.

The figure does not encompass all cyclosporiasis infections arising from other causes.

The CDC did not name the supplier, but The Washington Post – citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation – reported that Taylor Farms, which has production facilities across the US, Canada, and Mexico, had sold the lettuce.

Federal officials warned against eating shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell in the impacted five states.

In a statement, Taco Bell said it has "taken immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states."

They continued, saying, "The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states."

"We believe public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests," they added.