The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that 84 people from 19 states have been infected with strains of listeriosis linked to Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupe melons grown in Colorado.
The situation is reportedly the deadliest US outbreak of a food-borne illness since 1998, according torecords from the CDC.
The same mountain state has seen the most infections (17), ahead of Texas (14) and New Mexico (13), which has suffered the most deaths (five) of any individual state.
Jensen Farms, the grower associated with the outbreak, issued a recall of its melons more than two weeks ago and the CDC recommends that consumers throw away its Rocky Ford cantaloupes immediately.
The CDC advises that all other brands of cantaloupe are safe to eat, however.
