Pardon this, but so what?

[Supertramp78]

"Cantaloupe outbreak could be deadliest in a decade!!!"

that is the headline.

Another headline says,
"Deaths from "Killer" Cantaloupe rise as Listeria Outbreak Expands!"

the stories are thrilling

"As many as xxx people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes -- a death toll that would make the outbreak the deadliest in more than a decade."

Oh my gosh! This is terrible!!! What are we gona do??

Wait a sec.... how many people again?

"As many as 14 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes -- a death toll that would make the outbreak the deadliest in more than a decade."

Fourteen? That's it? Across the whole country? Deadliest outbreak in more than a decade? What happened ten years ago? Fifteen people died?

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that most of the deaths were of people over age 60. At least two were in their 90s."

Ok, so being old contributes. How widespread is this "outbreak"? Back when it was only 13, the list was this.

Colorado, two
Kansas, one
Maryland, one
Missouri, one
Nebraska, one
New Mexico, four
Oklahoma, one
Texas, two

13 people spread over 8 states.

I don't get it. Is this that big a story?

[prodigalone]

Bitter and jaded much trampie??? <wink>

[millring]

Cantaloupe stories always fall under the "man bites dog" rubric.

[Supertramp78]

14 people just doesn't seem to rise to the level of "deadly outbreak"

[millring]

It would if the population of the USA was 17 people.

[omaha]

I can only think of two ways a cantaloupe could kill you, and poisoning is by far the more pleasant.

[mccoyblues]

The stock in food born illness stories has risen in recent years. A tainted cataloupe story is HUGE news.

13 people have probably dies from eating at Taco Bell too but that never makes the news.

[Chesapeake]

Sept 28, 2011 8:27:22 GMT -5 @omaha said:

I can only think of two ways a cantaloupe could kill you, and poisoning is by far the more pleasant.

You are referring, I presume, to prison shivs fashioned out of cataloupe rinds.

[drlj]

It also might seem more significant if one of the 14 were a member of your family.

[Lonnie]

In an interesting side note, after some exhaustive Google research, it appears that Gallagher was on tour during both outbreaks, and his tour schedule uncannily coincides with the locations of the deaths.

The problem has been around for a long time. Romeo and Juliet, if you recall, died after being prevented from running away to get married.

[Supertramp78]

Over three times as many people die each year (40) from Salmonella or bee stings but nobody writes stories about deadly outbreaks.

[billhammond]

Sept 28, 2011 9:32:50 GMT -5 Supertramp78 said:

Over three times as many people die each year (40) from Salmonella or bee stings but nobody writes stories about deadly outbreaks.

The difference here is there appears to be a single source of the listeria, and so there is that need to get the word out to prevent more deaths.

The word "deadly" is overused, I think, but now has come to mean anytime anyone dies.

[billhammond]

Death toll appears to have now reached 16. I think it's a very legit news story. Here is some relevant background info from our latest story:


Listeria is more deadly than well-known pathogens like salmonella and E. coli, though those outbreaks generally cause many more illnesses. Twenty-one 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. Another large listeria outbreak in 1985 killed 52 people and was linked to Mexican-style soft cheese.

Listeria generally only sickens 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 can 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," 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 illnesses and deaths in 18 states. Cases of listeria 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. Fourteen illnesses were reported in Texas, 10 in New Mexico and eight in Oklahoma.

The outbreak has been traced to Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo., which recalled the tainted cantaloupes earlier this month. The Food and Drug Administration 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, Colo.

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

The Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes from Jensen Farms were shipped from July 29 through Sept. 10 to Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

The recalled cantaloupe may be labeled "Colorado Grown," `'Distributed by Frontera Produce," `'Jensenfarms.com" or "Sweet Rocky Fords." Not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled with a sticker, the FDA said.

Unlike many pathogens, listeria bacteria can grow at room temperatures and even refrigerator temperatures. The FDA and CDC recommend anyone who may have one of the contaminated cantaloupes throw it out immediately and clean and sanitize any surfaces it may have touched.

About 800 cases of listeria are found in the United States each year, according to CDC, and there usually are three or four outbreaks. Most of these are traced to deli meat and soft cheeses, where listeria is most common.

Produce has rarely been the culprit, but federal investigators say they have seen more produce-related listeria illnesses in the past two years. It was found in sprouts in 2009 and celery in 2010.

While most healthy adults can consume listeria with no ill effects, it can kill the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. It is also dangerous to pregnant women because it easily passes through to the fetus. Dr. Tauxe of the CDC said the type of listeria linked to the cantaloupes is not one that is commonly associated with pregnancy-associated illnesses, however. State and federal health authorities have not definitively linked any miscarriages, stillbirths or infant illnesses to the current outbreak.

Symptoms of listeria include fever and muscle aches, often with other gastrointestinal symptoms. Victims often become incapacitated and unable to speak.

[Supertramp78]

Yeah Bill, but how do you know where your melon came from? This is a story that should be directed to the retailers and discribution chain, not the general public.

[billhammond]

Sept 28, 2011 9:53:35 GMT -5 Supertramp78 said:

Yeah Bill, but how do you know where your melon came from? This is a story that should be directed to the retailers and discribution chain, not the general public.

Seems to me there are all kinds of reasons for the public to be alerted to this. According to what I just posted there could be melons in someone's fridge right now that could kill Grandpa.

Start with that.

Then there is the public interest in seeing which company somehow dropped the ball in the infection taking hold, and how they reacted to the realization that they had.

Then there is the public interest in seeing how the CDC and other health agencies near and far are dealing with it all.

[prodigalone]

is it helpful to wash/rinse your melon before you cut it?

[Rob Hanesworth]

Sept 28, 2011 9:07:50 GMT -5 Lonnie said:

The problem has been around for a long time. Romeo and Juliet, if you recall, died after being prevented from running away to get married.

[Supertramp78]

I think the listeria bacteria is INSIDE the melon, not just on the outside. Nobody eats the outside. But none of these informative stories tell us that. They just say toss them and clean up after them. It would be simpler to just send out a warning saying, "If you have purchased a melon in the last three weeks toss it and don't buy another one until for two weeks." telling people that some melons have stickers but "not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled with a sticker" helps you not a bit. Might as well tell people to ditch them all rather than examine them for something that may or may not be there.

[billhammond]

Sept 28, 2011 10:31:31 GMT -5 Supertramp78 said:

I think the listeria bacteria is INSIDE the melon, not just on the outside. Nobody eats the outside. But none of these informative stories tell us that. They just say toss them and clean up after them. It would be simpler to just send out a warning saying, "If you have purchased a melon in the last three weeks toss it and don't buy another one until for two weeks." telling people that some melons have stickers but "not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled with a sticker" helps you not a bit. Might as well tell people to ditch them all rather than examine them for something that may or may not be there.

You make legitimate criticisms of some coverage, not sure all has missed that boat.

But that is totally different from your initial posts, which seemed to indicate that this was not even a news story, or that it would have been best just to deal with it inside the food producer channels and not alert the public.

[Supertramp78]

Can you alert the public without scaring the crap out of them? Deadly outbreaks (14?) and "Killer" Cantaloupe? Puhleeze.