Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Update: Over 50 Illnesses and 7 Wrongful Death Cases
The cantaloupe listeria outbreak is spreading through the country with at least 53 confirmed or possible cases and as many as seven deaths in a dozen states. Our attorneys are investigating Listeria cases throughout the United States. Contact our attorneys for a free consultation.
So far the toll by state is as follows:
- Colorado: 12 confirmed cases, 1 death
- Illinois: 1 suspected case
- Indiana: 1 confirmed case
- Kansas: 6 suspected cases
- Missouri: 2 suspected cases, one death
- Montana: 2 suspected cases
- Nebraska: 1 confirmed case, 2 suspected cases
- New Mexico: 5 confirmed cases, 5 suspected cases, 4 possibly linked deaths
- Oklahoma: 6 confirmed cases, 1 death, 4 suspected cases
- Texas: 2 confirmed cases
- West Virginia: 1 confirmed case
- Wyoming: 1 suspected case
The FDA is warning consumers not to eat Rocky Ford cantaloupe shipped by Jensen Farms. Jensen Farms has recalled the Rocky Ford cantaloupe it shipped from July 29 through September 10, 2011, because it potentially may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis.
Grocery stores have pulled potentially tainted melons from their shelves. And now, PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a national food poisoning litigation law firm specializing Listeria, has launched an investigation into this outbreak. Listeriosis experts at PritzkerOlsen have been involved in every major Listeria outbreak in the country and have won millions for their clients.
The Rocky Ford cantaloupe outbreak of listeriosis began on or after August 15, 2011. The victims range in age from 38 to 96, but most have been women over the age of 60. All of them required hospitalization.
Listeriosis is a serious, sometimes fatal infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The disease primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and newborns.
Listeria symptoms include fever and muscle aches, often preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. In the most dangerous cases, an infection from Listeria monocytogenes may lead to sepsis (blood poisoning), Listeria meningitis (infection of the meninges of the brain, spinal cord and related fluids), and/or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
