CDC Declares Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Over, 30 of 146 Stricken Have Died

Posted on December 9, 2011 by PritzkerLaw

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared an official end to the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak which began in Colorado in mid-August and swept through 28 states sickening 146 people and killing 30 before meeting its own end.

The source of the outbreak was Jensen Farms of Holly, Colo., where the FDA found a number of unsanitary conditions including used packing equipment that was difficult to clean and standing water on the packing room floor.

The number of victims  identified in each state was as follows: Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), California (4), Colorado (40), Idaho (2), Illinois (4), Indiana (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (11), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), Missouri (7), Montana (1), Nebraska (6), Nevada (1), New Mexico (15), New York (2), North Dakota (2), Oklahoma (12), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (18), Utah (1), Virginia (1), West Virginia (1), Wisconsin (2), and Wyoming (4).

 
Eating food contaminate with Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis a serious infection that is especially dangerous for older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and their newborns. Among pregnant women, it can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.
 
Among victims  for whom information was available: reported illness onset ranged from July 31, 2011 through October 27, 2011. Ages ranged from <1 to 96 years, with a median age of 77 years. Most  of those sickened were over 60 and most, 58 percent were female. Ninety nine percent were hospitalized. Seven of the illnesses were related to a pregnancy; three were diagnosed in newborns and four were diagnosed in pregnant women. 

Thirty deaths were reported: Colorado (8), Indiana (1), Kansas (3), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), Missouri (3), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (5), New York (2), Oklahoma (1), Texas (2), and Wyoming (1). Those who died ranged in age  from 48 to 96 years, with a median age of 82.5 years. In addition, one woman who was pregnant at the time of illness had a miscarriage.

Those with legal questions regarding an illness or hospitalization associated with this outbreak should contact the foodborne illness attorneys at PritzkerOlsen P.A. for a free consultation.

  

 

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