In the past two weeks, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Epidemiology has received three reports of listeriosis (two in Douglas County and one in Custer County). The age range is 46 to 85. Two are female. Of the two with known hospitalization history, both were hospitalized. PFGE (DNA fingerprinting) has completed on one isolate. It matches isolates from two other states. The investigation in this cluster so far is finding a strong association with cantaloupe.

As of a few moments ago the CDC was still reporting only a total of 22 persons infected with the outbreak-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from 7 states. The number of infected persons identified in each state is as follows: Colorado (12), Indiana (1), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (4), Oklahoma (1), Texas (2), and West Virginia (1). Two deaths have been reported, one in Colorado and one in New Mexico.

The death toll and illness toll is likely to continue to rise.