Listeria has killed four people, with the outbreak having been traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.
One death occurred in Colorado, one in Oklahoma and two in New Mexico. The death count could soon rise to six, reports AP.
Chad Smelser of the New Mexico Department of Heath said the CDC is in the process of confirming two additional deaths linked to the outbreak in his state.
The CDC said 35 people in 10 states have been sickened in the outbreak so far. The illnesses are in California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia, AP reports.
Colorado has the most illnesses with 12 sufferers, followed by Oklahoma with six and New Mexico with five.
The illnesses have been traced to fruit from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo. The FDA said Monday that it had found listeria in samples of Jensen Farms' cantaloupe.
The cantaloupe was taken from a Denver-area store and samples from equipment and cantaloupe at the farm's packing facility, reports AP.
Tests confirmed that the samples matched the strain of the disease found in those sickened.
Last week, Jensen Farms recalled its Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes after the illnesses were linked to its fruit.
