Listeria outbreak already claimed 4 lives in the US.

Listeria is believed to have originated from a cantaloupe which was grown at Jensen Farms Inc in Holly, Colorado according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who reported 1 death from the state.

Listeria now claimed four confirmed deaths since the outbreak last August. Federal officials believe that the outbreak is now affecting 10 states where a total of 35 people have been infected.

There are two confirmed deaths from Listeria in New Mexico and the one in Oklahoma. The overall toll could still rise to six if the CDC will confirm two more deaths reported in New Mexico are also caused by Listeria.

An increase of 22 illnesses have been cited by CDC last week since the listeria outbreak on August 4.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that it found listeria monocytogenes on samples taken from equipment and cantaloupe at Jensen Farms’ packing facility and in samples of its Rocky Ford brand cantaloupe taken from a Denver-area store.

According a statement by FDA, the cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 and September 10 to at least 17 states, thereby advising consumers not to eat the recalled cantaloupes and to throw them away.

Here are more info about Listeria according to the Wikipedia:

Listeria is a bacterial genus containing six species. Named after the English pioneer of sterile surgery Joseph Lister, the genus was given its current name in 1940. Listeria species are Gram-positive bacilli and are typified by L. monocytogenes, the causative agent of listeriosis.

Listeria monocytogenes is commonly found in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, and food. Listeria are known to be responsible for listeriosis, a rare but potentially lethal food-borne infection. The case fatality rate for those with a severe form of infection may approach 25%.

The majority of Listeria bacteria are targeted by the immune system before they are able to cause infection. Those that escape the immune system’s initial response, however, spread through intracellular mechanisms and are, therefore, guarded against circulating immune factors.