The CDC now says 13 deaths have been caused by the cantaloupe-carried infection. The death toll – which includes newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and two deaths in Texas – surpassed the total from the 2009 deadly salmonella outbreak from peanuts that killed nine.
Listeria illness, with symptoms including fever and muscle aches so severe that victims sometimes are incapacitated, has now sickened 72 people across 18 states, according to the CDC.
Officials say the death toll could soon reach 16, as they are investigating additional deaths in New Mexico, Kansas, and Wyoming.
The toll will probably grow in the coming weeks because it can take 4 weeks for a Listeria infection to show symptoms, said the CDC’s Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the division of foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases.
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If you or someone you know, has suffered a serious illness or worse, as a result of poisoned cantaloupe, please call the law offices of Bliven Law Firm, P.C. For 35 years, our Montana-based personal injury firm has helped food poisoning victims recover damages they are legally entitled to.