Rockmelons grown in the US state of Colorado have been linked to an outbreak of listeria monocytogenes that has killed 13 people and infected dozens more, US health authorities said.
US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the whole rockmelons were from Jensen Farms which has recalled its Rocky Ford brand of the fruit grown in Granada, Colorado.
The CDC says deaths have been reported across much of the country: two in Colorado; one in Kansas; one in Maryland; one in Missouri; one in Nebraska; four in New Mexico; one in Oklahoma and two in Texas.
They are among the total 72 reported infections in a total of 18 US states.
Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium, is an agent that causes listeriosis, and is among the most virulent food-borne bacteria.
