FDA: Salmonella outbreak, including two deaths, linked to contaminated cantaloupes from Indiana

The FDA is investigating a multistate oubreak of salmonella infections including two deaths that may be related to cantaloupe grown in Southwest Indiana.
According to an FDA news release, at least 141 people invected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported in 20 states. As a result of initial investigations by state health departments in Indiana and Kentucky, a farm in southwestern Indiana has contacted its distributors and is withdrawing its cantaloupe from the marketplace. The farm has also agreed to stop distributing cantaluopes for the remainder of the growing season.
The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50, with two deaths), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (s), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1) and Wisconsin (2). Thirty-one of the infected have been hospitalized.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. Most people recover without treatment, though complications arise in some that may require hospitalization and antibiotic treatment.
FDA officials are investigating potential sources of the outbreak and will provide more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, FDA is advising consumers not to eat and to discard cantaloupe from southwestern Indiana and discourages washing them because bacteria may be both on the inside and outside. Also, cutting, slicing and dicing may also transfer harmful bacteria from the fruit's surface to its flesh.
Questions about food safety may be directed to 1-888-SAFEFOOD or click here to visit the FDA website.