Consumers warned to avoid maradol papayas from Mexico after victims fall sick in 16 states from eating fruit traced to farm in the Yucatan peninsula

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

More than 100 people have contracted salmonella after eating papaya traced to a farm in southern Mexico, according to US public health officials.

The 106 victims of the outbreak have fallen sick in 16 states and 35 cases were serious enough to require hospitalization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on its web page dedicated to the outbreak. One person in New York City has died.

Papaya traced to the Carica de Campeche farm in Campeche, Mexico, appears to be the likely source, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. The farm is located on the Gulf of Mexico side of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The company did not immediately respond to an email and phones went unanswered on Tuesday. A storm warning was posted for the area as tropical storm Franklin was making its way across the Yucatan peninsula.

Papayas from the Carica de Campeche farm tested positive for five different strains of salmonella bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and fever. Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are the most likely to have severe infections.

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Cases in New York nearly tripled to 36 since the last report on 21 July and New Jersey cases have more than doubled to 26. Virginia has had 11 cases, Pennsylvania seven and Maryland six.

Connecticut and Minnesota each have four cases, and Massachusetts has had three.

Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma have reported two cases and Delaware, Louisiana Michigan and Wisconsin have had one each.

The FDA said it is working with Mexican food safety authorities to conduct inspections and other follow up activities.

The Campeche farm has been added to an import alert which allows FDA field personnel to stop fresh produce from entering the US from the farm until the farm is proven to have resolved issues that caused the bacterial contamination. It was not immediately clear how the papaya was contaminated, an FDA spokesman Peter Cassell said.

“The investigation is continuing and we’ll post more information when it’s available,” said Cassell.

The CDC said laboratory evidence using genetic testing had connected some of the illnesses to papaya from the farm.

So far the Caribena, Cavi and Valery brands of maradol papayas have been recalled but the CDC now recommends that consumers not eat, restaurants not serve, and retailers not sell maradol papayas from Mexico.