Baton Rouge Woman Dies, Tainted Cantaloupe Suspected

The family of an elderly Baton Rouge woman say their mother was the latest victim of a listeria outbreak that has been linking to tainitd cantaloupes in several states.  Late last week the Food and Drug Administration added Louisiana to the list of states where the tainted cantaloupe was said to have gone.

An elderly Baton Rouge woman is believed to be among the latest victims of the listeria outbreak involving tainted cantaloupes. The family of 87-year-old Elaine Babcock says their mother died Saturday some two weeks after eating cantaloupe.

It was just Friday when Louisiana it made onto the list of states involving recalled cantaloupes distributed by Jensen Farms in Colorado. Fifteen deaths have been confirmed so far.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least 15 people have died because of tainted cantaloupes.  The CDC reports 19 states have reported listeria infections.  There are four separate strains of listeria involved in the outbreak that's been traced to Jensen Farms in Colorado.  The FDA says more cases can be expected to crop up through the end of this month as more and more people begin to show symptoms of their infections.  It can take up to two months for a person contaminated with Listeria to begin showing symptoms.  Still a mystery is how the melons were tainted.