CHICAGO, (Reuters) – A listeria outbreak caused by tainted cantaloupes has infected 72 people in the United States and killed 13, U.S. health officials said today.
The death toll now exceeds the 2009 salmonella outbreak from tainted peanuts that killed nine and infected more than 700 people in the United States.
So far, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 18 states have reported infections from one of the four strains of listeria involved in the outbreak.
Of the 13 deaths, four were in New Mexico, two were in Colorado, two were in Texas, and there was one each in Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
All of the illnesses started on or after July 31.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it found Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterial strain found in the tainted cantaloupes, in samples of melons from Denver-based Jensen Farms.
The company recalled its Rocky Ford cantaloupes on Sept. 14 in response to the listeria outbreak. The FDA has advised consumers not to eat the recalled cantaloupes and to throw them away.
Listeria bacteria thrive in low temperatures. Outbreaks are usually associated with deli meats, unpasteurized cheeses and smoked refrigerated seafood products, rather than fresh produce.
Listeria infection can be particularly dangerous for elderly people, pregnant women and patients with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC.
