2 dead, people hospitalized have doubled: Cantaloupe salmonella U.S. outbreak update

David J. Neal
·2 min read
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Two reported deaths are the grimmest of the statistics in the latest Centers for Disease Control update on the salmonella outbreak linked to Mexican cantaloupes. The CDC released an update Friday, just three days after the previous update.

Here’s what to know:

▪ The number of people sickened increased from 42 to 99.

▪ The number of people hospitalized increased from 17 to 45.

▪ The number of states with sick citizens increased from 15 to 32.

Minnesota, home of the two people who died, has the most people infected with 13. Missouri has nine. Ohio and Wisconsin each have eight. Arizona has seven. Kentucky has five. Illinois, Nebraska and Tennessee each have four. Georgia, South Carolina and Texas each have three. Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina and Nevada have two each. States reporting one person sick for each are Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

READ MORE: Latest salmonella outbreak recalls include whole cantaloupes and Walmart fruit dishes

New cantaloupe recall

What: There’s also a new recall of Malichita brand cantaloupes linked to this outbreak, although this one is a case of closing the barn door after the horses galloped into the distance.

Where: Fresno, California’s Pacific Trellis Fruit, operating out of Los Angeles under Dulcinea, recalled 4,872 cases of Malichita whole cantaloupes that went to distributors in California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin all the way back on Oct. 18 through 26. The cantaloupes bear the Malichita sticker with “4050.”

Another one of the stickers on recalled Malichita cantaloupes FDA
Another one of the stickers on recalled Malichita cantaloupes FDA

What to do: On the chance you still have these cantaloupes, return them to the store for a full refund. Any questions about Pacific Trellis’ recall, phone Evangelina Kaudze Monday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m., Eastern time, at 323-859-9600.

What to know about salmonella

While salmonella kills about 420 people in the United States annually, even a 2.02% mortality rate is high for salmonella. According to the CDC, those 420 annual deaths usually come out of about 1.35 million infected. Also, the outbreak’s 45.5% hospitalization rate runs much higher than 1.96% annual hospitalization rate for salmonella.

Salmonella usually brings four to seven days of vomiting, diarrhea, stomachaches, fever and nausea.