Cantaloupe Listeria outbreak: death toll rises to 16.

16 people have died from possible Listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than 10 years, according to health officials.

72 Listeria illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday. State and local authorities say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected to Listeria outbreak.

The Listeria outbreak death toll released by the CDC Tuesday – including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas – surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of Salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak.

The CDC has confirmed two deaths in Texas and one death each in in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

Last week the CDC reported two deaths in Colorado, four deaths in New Mexico, one in Oklahoma and one in Maryland.

New Mexico authorities said yesterday they are investigating a fifth death, while health officials in Kansas and Wyoming said they too are investigating additional deaths possibly linked to the tainted fruit.

Listeria is more deadly than well-known pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli, though those outbreaks generally cause many more illnesses.

21 people died in an outbreak of Listeria poisoning in 1998 traced to contaminated hot dogs and possibly deli meats made by Bil Mar Foods, a subsidiary of Sara Lee Corp, the Associated Press reports.

Another large Listeria outbreak in 1985 killed 52 people and was linked to Mexican-style soft cheese.

Listeria generally only affects the elderly, pregnant women and others with compromised immune systems.

The CDC said the median age of those sickened is 78 and that one in five who contract the disease can die.

Dr. Robert Tauxe of the CDC says the number of illnesses and deaths will probably grow in coming weeks because the symptoms of listeria don’t always show up right away.

It could take four weeks or more for a person to fall ill after eating food contaminated with Listeria.

“That long incubation period is a real problem,” Dr. Robert Tauxe said.

“People who ate a contaminated food two weeks ago or even a week ago could still be falling sick weeks later.”

CDC reported the 72 Listeria illnesses and deaths in 18 states.

Cases of Listeria infection were reported in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The most illnesses were reported in Colorado, which has seen 15 sickened. 14 illnesses were reported in Texas, 10 in New Mexico and eight in Oklahoma.

Listeria outbreak has been traced to Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado, which recalled the tainted cantaloupes earlier this month.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said state health officials had found Listeria in cantaloupes taken from grocery stores in the state and from a victim’s home that were grown at Jensen Farms.

Matching strains of the disease were found on equipment and cantaloupe samples at Jensen Farms’ packing facility in Granada, Colorado.

FDA, which investigates the cause of foodborne outbreaks, has not released any additional details on how the contamination may have happened, but says its investigation is ongoing.