Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, and Arizona are the states that are the hardest hit in the deadly cantaloupe Salmonella outbreak. Minnesota has the most cases with 20, and two deaths. Wisconsin is next with 18 patients, Texas has 16, Arizona 15, Missouri has 14 patients, and Illinois has 11. In all, there are at least 230 people sick in 38 states. Ninety-six people have been hospitalized, and there are three deaths reported: Two in Minnesota, and one in Oregon.
The case count by state is: Alaska (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (15), California (8), Colorado (8), Georgia (3), Iowa (5), Illinois (11), Indiana (5), Kansas (2), Kentucky (7), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota (20), Missouri (14), Mississippi (1), Montana (2), North Carolina (4), Nebraska (7), New Jersey (3), New Mexico (2), Nevada (5), New York (7), Ohio (8), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (6), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (5), Texas (16), Utah (9), Virginia (5), Washington (4), Wisconsin (18), and West Virginia (3).
Ninety-six patients are hospitalized, for a hospitalization rate of 52%. The typical hospitalization rate for Salmonella outbreaks is 20%, which means that this outbreak is much more severe than most. It could be that the strains of Salmonella that are making people sick, Salmonella Sundsvall and Salmonella Oranienburg, are more virulent, the patients are in higher risk groups for serious complications from this infection, or the cantaloupe are contaminated with a lot of the pathogens.
Many recalls have been issued in the wake of this outbreak. Please check your refrigerator and freezer to see if you have any of these recalled products. If you do, throw them away. Unless you are positive that the cantaloupe in your home is not part of this recall, do not eat it.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection take 12 hours to one week to appear. Most people suffer from headache, fever, chills, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and cramps, and diarrhea that is bloody. If you have been experiencing these symptoms and you think you ate cantaloupe, see your doctor.
If you have been sickened with a food poisoning infection, please contact our experienced attorneys for help with a possible lawsuit at 1-888-377-8900 or text us at 612-261-0856. Our firm represents clients in lawsuits against grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors, and families in wrongful death cases.
