CDC confirms 30 deaths in Listeria outbreak tied to cantaloupe

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared an end to the deadliest food poisoning outbreak in the U.S. in the last 25 years.

According to an MSNBC.com report, the Listeria outbreak linked to contaminated cantaloupe from a Colorado grower claimed 30 lives and sickened 146 more people. A total of 28 states reported victims in the outbreak, which lasted from August through October.
Most of the victims in the outbreak reported eating cantaloupe grown and distributed by Jensen Farms, a Colorado grower which issued a recall in September on hundreds of thousands of its product.

Food and Drug Administration investigations pinpointed filthy conditions at the farm’s processing and packing facility as the likely source of the outbreak. Numerous other companies were forced to issue recalls on products that contained the compromised cantaloupe.

Among the victims, 142 were forced to seek treatment at a hospital for their food poisoning symptoms and the outbreak led to one miscarriage. Listeria poisoning can be one of the most severe forms of food-borne pathogens and many victims often require hospitalization.

Pregnant women, children and the elderly are most likely to suffer from the most severe side effects of Listeria poisoning. Listeria bacteria has been blamed for miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women and general symptoms of infection include nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, lethargy, abdominal pain and diarrhea.