Excerpt
GWEN IFILL (Newshour): The government has launched an investigation into the deadliest outbreak of foodborne disease in more than a decade.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration say at least 13 people have died so far from listeria found in contaminated cantaloupes. Three other deaths are reportedly under investigation, and 72 people have been sickened.
Scientists have determined the tainted fruit originated at Jensen Farms in eastern Colorado. The melons were shipped to at least 25 states and some foreign countries.
And the number of reported infections is expected to rise.
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DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: This is first time we have ever documented this particular bacteria, listeria, in cantaloupe.
And the Food and Drug Administration is currently doing an investigation at the farm to figure out why, so we can prevent future cases of contamination. But the skin, the flesh of the cantaloupe is actually a good place for bacteria to grow. Listeria is quite unusual as a bacteria for a couple of reasons.
One is that, once you eat it, it may be one to three weeks or even one or two months before you become ill. And that's the main reason we expect to see, unfortunately, case numbers rising in the coming weeks. And the second is that it's one of those rare bacteria that can actually grow even when it's refrigerated.
So as you put it in your refrigerator, most food, even if it's contaminated, you will knock down that contamination. But with listeria, the bacteria can continue to grow in your refrigerator, and that's why we tell people to throw out anything from Jensen Farms, any cantaloupe from Jensen Farms.
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