At least 13 killed in listeria outbreak in U.S.
WASHINGTON. September 28. KAZINFORM At least 13 people had been killed amid 72 sickened in 18 states in listeria outbreak traced to Colorado cantaloupes, making it the most deadly U.S. outbreak of food-borne infection since 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday in a statement posted on its website; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
Of the 13 deaths, four were in New Mexico, two were in Colorado, two were in Texas, and there was one each in Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Victims range in age from 35 to 96 years, with an average age of 78. All of the illnesses started on or after July 31.
The figures were the latest confirmed as of Monday morning, according to the CDC. But they may well rise in the still-widening outbreak as state and local officials are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.
In 1998, 21 people died from listeria linked to tainted hot dogs, according to a CDC online database; Kazinform cites Xinhua.
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