Five people have died across Canada in a tainted cantaloupe outbreak that has hit at least 129 people across the country, including 15 who have fallen ill in British Columbia.
On Friday, the latest update from the Public Health Agency of Canada said 44 people have been hospitalized across the country.
While illnesses have been reported in six provinces — Quebec has the highest number with 91 cases — distribution of the contaminated cantaloupes has extended across every province, save Saskatchewan.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says tainted cantaloupe has killed another three people in the United States, with 96 hospitalized and hundreds of people infected across 38 states since mid-November.
The Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a recall for cantaloupes sold under the Malichita brand between Oct. 11 and Nov. 14, and those under the Rudy brand between Oct. 10 and Nov. 24.
The CFIA warns to contact your health-care provider if you have become sick from eating the recalled products.
“Food contaminated with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick,” notes the CFIA.
Serious and sometimes deadly infections can occur in young children, pregnant and older people, and those with weakened immune systems.
Healthy people could experience fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. But long-term complications may also occur, such as severe arthritis.
