Listeria Outbreak kills 13, Infects 72

Listeria Outbreak Kills 13

The foodborne outbreak is the deadliest in the United States in more than a decade, exceeding the 2008-2009 salmonella outbreak from tainted peanuts that killed nine and infected more than 700 people in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, 18 states have reported infections from one of the four strains of listeria involved in the outbreak, the CDC said.

The link above goes directly to the Reuters article.


Cantaloupe-Related Outbreak

(CNN) -- An outbreak of illness linked to consumption of tainted cantaloupes has been linked to 13 deaths and 72 illnesses in 18 states, a federal disease agency reported Wednesday. The outbreak -- blamed on the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes -- was first reported September 12, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 15 people in four states had been infected. The illnesses were traced to consumption of Rocky Ford cantaloupes grown at Jensen Farms' fields in Granada, Colorado.

The link above will take you to the CNN article.

Disease to me is fascinating, despite our everyday cushion of technology, the smallest particles are the ones that continually slip past and cause events such as this.

Thanks for the info! I know not to buy cantaloupes anytime soon! It is strange how many diseases and infections have been occurring in the USA, especially in the past decade or so. Things that I would have never thought could happen in the US are becoming common. TB, Foodborne illnesses, Leprosy, Dengue, Hepatitis A-Z to name only a few. Even bedbugs have made a comeback with a vengeance. I know that these things are common in Mexico and other third world countries, but I just can't fathom why it is happening here in the USA.

Any ideas where these things are coming from, and why???

reply to post by Inconceivable


In my opinion, it's the greater ease of transportation. You can take a flight from anywhere to anywhere, and in a matter of hours you may have spread whatever to whoever.

Originally posted by Inconceivable
Thanks for the info! I know not to buy cantaloupes anytime soon! It is strange how many diseases and infections have been occurring in the USA, especially in the past decade or so. Things that I would have never thought could happen in the US are becoming common. TB, Foodborne illnesses, Leprosy, Dengue, Hepatitis A-Z to name only a few. Even bedbugs have made a comeback with a vengeance. I know that these things are common in Mexico and other third world countries, but I just can't fathom why it is happening here in the USA.

Any ideas where these things are coming from, and why???

Could be the 30 million illegals that flooded into this country in the last decade or so... I wonder how many illegals work at Jensen Farms.

Also poor run off water management is to blame in many crop infection cases.

reply to post by MikeZutch


lots of fruits and veggies are dangerous, carriers of these types of bacteria.

this many deaths is wierd, tho. depleted immune systems are quite vulnerable.


like the cukes in germany this past summer.

fresh fruit can easily be secretly injected or abraded with infectants, intentionally or unintentially.

its getting not safe to eat anything that hasn't been cooked/pasteurized!!!

The CDC reports that most people who have died were over the age of 60, and two were over 90. Listeriosis is the third leading cause of meningitis in newborns. Those with a healthy immune system are highly unlikely to fall ill due to the infection. Symptoms are similar to those of the flu, along with confusion, diarrhea and possible convulsions.

Courtesy of RSOE EDIS

The problem is that they are finding the bacteria on the inside of the cantalope, which no detection method can handle. How is it getting on the inside?
That is a very rare thing to find bacteria on the inside of a fruit.

Could be a small bioterrorism attempt.

reply to post by ignant

hey, I've even "nuked" fresh cut tomatoes before..yeah it's yucky in flavor but I did it just in case....
Who would have thought cantaloupe would be the carrier of this latest outbreak of disease and death?

CDC - Listeria

Listeriosis, a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, is an important public health problem in the United States.

Listeria Outbreak - CDC

As of 11am EDT on September 26, 2011, a total of 72 persons infected with the four outbreak-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported to CDC from 18 states. All illnesses started on or after July 31, 2011. The number of infected persons identified in each state is as follows: California (1), Colorado (15), Florida (1), Illinois (1), Indiana (2), Kansas (5), Maryland (1), Missouri (1), Montana (1), Nebraska (6), New Mexico (10), North Dakota (1), Oklahoma (8), Texas (14), Virginia (1), West Virginia (1), Wisconsin (2), and Wyoming (1).

Some good links and information straight from the CDC.

Listeria Cases Likely to Rise

"We will see more cases likely through October," U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a telephone briefing. Health officials have pinpointed the source of the outbreak to cantaloupes grown by Jensen Farms in Colorado shipped between July 29 and September 10, but it is not yet clear how listeria bacteria got into the fruit.

Does anyone think that this outbreak of listeria is linked to Monsanto? We all know Monsanto has already sold tons of genetically modified products such as corn and such. I mean what impact could genetically modifying a plant to produce a toxin just to kill of a certain kind of insect? but at the same time how much do we really know about genetically modifying plants? For all we know that same piece of the helix could also produce an immunity to certain bacteria for all we know... though on the other hand maybe this isnt linked to genetically modified plants at all. I haven't done my due diligence yet so I was wondering if anyone else has? Also I am sort of surprised no one else has asked these questions yet. hmmm.....

I'm thinking we might need some new laws to protect us from this happening again in the future. Who cares if they add a whole bunch of unrelated stuff to the bill before they pass it? I'll never buy another cantaloupe again until I know for sure we're protected.

This is produce terrorism in my opinion.

Peace

It's hard to stop disease simply with laws though is the problem. There has to be an effort with a whole bunch of different things.

CNN - What you should know about Listeria

What is it? Listeria monocytogenes is a “hardy” bacterium that is resistant to extreme hot and cold. This bacterium is pathogenic – meaning that it is infectious to humans, causing the illness listeriosis.

CNN - Tainted Cantaloupes

(CNN) -- Federal health officials are expanding efforts to ensure no additional bacteria-tainted cantaloupes get to consumers in what has become the deadliest U.S. outbreak of a food-borne illness in more than a decade.

This news will hopefuly make people be more attentive to what they buy and eat, unfortunately we can't be absolutely sure that we don't eat contaminated fruits and other food, but everyone should know the first symptoms of listeria and get treatment in time. Here is some information about the disease, it's symtoms and what we can do to prevent it.