CDC: 18 people dead in listeria outbreak tied to cantaloupe

The death toll in the listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupes from a Colorado farm rose to 18 and could continue to climb, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
About 100 people in 20 states have become sick from the outbreak, the CDC said.
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The federal agency has confirmed five deaths in both Colorado and New Mexico, two each in Kansas and Texas, and one each in Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Wyoming's Health Department said it confirmed a death in that state linked to the outbreak, but the CDC did not include that case in its count.
The outbreak has been linked to Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes sold by Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo. The cantaloupes were recalled Sept. 14, and no melons under the recall should still be on store shelves. The first illnesses began after July31.
Symptoms of listeria can take up to two months to develop in someone who has eaten contaminated food, so illnesses could continue to show up into November, the CDC said.
Most of the contaminated melons should be out of the food supply by now. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration said any cantaloupes not from Jensen Farms are safe to eat.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Tuesday that her agency is investigating the cause of the outbreak.
The FDA and CDC have had teams in Jensen Farms fields and packing sheds, testing the soil, water and surfaces for clues. Listeria bacteria grow in moist, muddy conditions and are often carried by animals.
Listeria is a rare but dangerous bacteria that kills approximately 30% of its victims and can send up to 90% of the elderly people who get it to the hospital.
It can cause mild illnesses in pregnant women, but it can also result in stillbirths or miscarriages. In the past, listeria has been most strongly linked to deli meats and soft cheeses, not produce.
The outbreak is the deadliest in the USA in the past 10 years. The second deadliest was the salmonella outbreak in peanut products linked to the Peanut Corp. of America in 2008. That outbreak killed nine people and sickened more than 700.
Before then, the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak was in 1985, when a Mexican-style cheese contaminated with listeria from Jalisco Products killed 18 people and sickened 86 others. That outbreak resulted in four miscarriages, the CDC said.
Contributing: The Associated Press