Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Other States Still Finding Cantaloupe Listeria
Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and other states are still finding deaths and illnesses stemming from the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak that has now killed 25 people, caused at least one miscarriage and has hospitalized more than 100 others.
There are 26 states now involved in the outbreak linked to whole cantaloupes from Jensen Farms of Granada, Colorado. Pennsylvania is the latest addition. There have been two deaths in New York, 6 in Colorado and five in New Mexico. Jensen recalled millions of cantaloupes September 14th and the melons clearly are out of distribution by now, but Listeria symptoms sometimes don't show up until two months after a person has eaten contaminated food.
Meanwhile, there's also the time it takes for public health officials to be notified of such illnesses or deaths and additional time for them to collect samples required for testing to confirm matches to the four Listeria strains related to this outbreak. "State and local health departments in these and other states are investigating other listeriosis illnesses to determine if they are part of this outbreak,'' the CDC said in its latest statement, published October 18.
- Among persons who died, ages range from 48 to 96 years, with a median age of 87 years. Most ill persons are over 60 years old and 98 percent were hospitalized.
- Four of the illnesses were related to a pregnancy; one was diagnosed in a newborn and three were diagnosed in pregnant women. One miscarriage has been reported. Other outcomes are being monitored.
- About 800 laboratory-confirmed cases of Listeria infection are reported each year in the United States and typically 3 or 4 outbreaks are identified. The foods that typically cause these outbreaks have been deli meats, hot dogs, and Mexican-style soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk. Produce is not often identified as a source, but sprouts caused an outbreak in 2009, and celery caused an outbreak in 2010.
From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here's the state-by-state breakdowns of illnesses and deaths stemming from the Jensen Farms Listeria cantaloupe outbreak that started on July 31.
Infected Persons: Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), California (2), Colorado (36), Idaho (1), Illinois (2), Indiana (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (7), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), Missouri (4), Montana (1), Nebraska (6), New Mexico (13), New York (2), North Dakota (1), Oklahoma (11), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (18), Virginia (1), West Virginia (1), Wisconsin (2), and Wyoming (3).
Cantaloupe Listeria Deaths: 6 in Colorado, 1 in Indiana, 2 in Kansas, 2 in Louisiana, 1 in Maryland, 1 in Missouri, 1 in Nebraska, 5 in New Mexico, 2 in New York, 1 in Oklahoma, 2 in Texas, and 1 in Wyoming..
