This is the first of a six part series on my view of the deadly cantaloupe Listeria outbreak of 2011.

First, a Bit of History

Although the 2011 outbreak was the first known Listeria outbreak associated with cantaloupe, cantaloupe outbreaks are by no means a new phenomenon.  Since 1985, in fact, there have been no less than 15 recognized outbreaks in the U.S. involving cantaloupes, grown domestically and internationally:

No.	Year	State(s)	Confirmed Illnesses	Pathogen	Description
1.	1985	Wisconsin	16	Campylobacter	Melon or cantaloupe
2.	1990	30 states	245	Salmonella	Cut cantaloupe at salad bars
3.	1991	International, including U.S.	400	Salmonella	Likely Mexican cantaloupe
4.	1997	California	24	Salmonella	Mexican cantaloupe.
5.	1998	Ontario, Canada	22	Salmonella	Cantaloupe
6.	1999	Iowa	61	Norovirus	Restaurant, cantaloupe or melon
7.	2000	California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, Nevada	47	Salmonella	Mexican cantaloupe
8.	2001	Multi-state and International	50	Salmonella	Viva Brand cantaloupe
9.	2002	California, Minnesota, Oregon, Arkansas, Vermont, Nevada, Texas	58	Salmonella	Susie Brand cantaloupe
10.	2003	New York, Ohio, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Missouri	58	Salmonella	Day care center and private homes, cantaloupe/honeydew melon
11.	2006	Multi-State and International	41	Salmonella	Cantaloupe cut at processing facility in Canada
12.	2007	California	11	Salmonella	Private home
13.	2008	Multi-State	53	Salmonella	Agropecuraria Mobtelibano cantaloupe, from Honduras
14.	2008	California	23	Norovirus	Restaurant, melon and cantaloupe
15.	2011	Multi-State	20	Salmonella	Del Monte cantaloupe

 

The CDC’s Case Count

A total of 146 persons infected with any of the four outbreak-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes were reported to CDC from 28 states.  The number of infected persons identified in each state was as follows:  Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), California (4), Colorado (40), Idaho (2), Illinois (4), Indiana (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (11), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), Missouri (7), Montana (1), Nebraska (6), Nevada (1), New Mexico (15), New York (2), North Dakota (2), Oklahoma (12), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (18), Utah (1), Virginia (1), West Virginia (1), Wisconsin (2), and Wyoming (4).

Among persons for whom information was available, reported illness onset ranged from July 31, 2011 through October 27, 2011.  Ages ranged from <1 to 96 years, with a median age of 77 years.  Most cases were over 60 years old.  Fifty-eight percent of cases were female.  Among the 144 ill persons with available information on whether they were hospitalized, 142 (99%) were hospitalized.

Thirty deaths[1] were reported:  Colorado (8), Indiana (1), Kansas (3), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), Missouri (3), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (5), New York (2), Oklahoma (1), Texas (2), and Wyoming (1).  Among persons who died, ages ranged from 48 to 96 years, with a median age of 82.5 years.  In addition, one woman pregnant at the time of illness had a miscarriage.  Seven of the illnesses were related to a pregnancy; three were diagnosed in newborns and four were diagnosed in pregnant women.

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[1]           We believe that number should now be 32 with the additional deaths of Sharon Jones and Paul Schwarz.