Listeria-tainted cantaloupes now blamed for 21 deaths

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The death toll from listeria-contaminated cantaloupes has risen to 21, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

According to the CDC website, 109 people in 24 states have taken ill during the outbreak, the deadliest food-borne incident since 1998.

The latest deaths were in Indiana and New York, the CDC reported. The Atlanta-based agency also confirmed a death in Wyoming.

The agency also reported that a woman, pregnant at the time of her illness, had suffered a miscarriage.

Five deaths each have been reported in Colorado and in New Mexico. Two deaths each have been reported in Kansas and Texas. The states of Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma and Wyoming have had one death each.

The outbreak has been traced to Colorado’s Jensen Farms, which recalled the tainted fruit on Sept. 14.

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Photo illustration: Joe Raedle/Getty Images