A listeria outbreak has been linked to cantaloupes, killing as many as 16 people in what health officials have described as the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade. There have been 72 illnesses linked to tainted fruit. Deaths as a result of the outbreak have been confirmed in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas. Listeria is more deadly than salmonella and E. coli, though outbreaks due to the latter tend to cause more illnesses.
Listeria tends to affect those with compromised immune systems, with the median age of those affected at 78. One in five who contracts the disease can die. Listeria is difficult to track because it has a long incubation period, with symptoms showing up sometimes weeks after eating contaminated food. The outbreak was to Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado, which recalled the tainted fruit. Investigation is ongoing on how the contamination happened.
