Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.
The death toll released by the CDC Tuesday — including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas — surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak.
The CDC said Tuesday that they have confirmed two deaths in Texas and one death each in in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Last week the CDC reported two deaths in Colorado, four deaths in New Mexico, one in Oklahoma and one in Maryland.
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Ed. According to the news on channel 13 Baltimore this morning:
listeria has an incubation of up to 4 weeks.
Listeria is most dangerous for pregnant women and people with chronic diseases.
1 out of 6 Americans is affected with food-born illness each year, and we know that partly because tracking is getting better all the time.
The link below is to the Center for Disease Control with listeria facts.
https://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/listeriosis/
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