NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An 87-year-old Baton Rouge woman who had eaten cantaloupe in recent weeks died of listeria over the weekend, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said Monday.
Bacteria samples will be studied to determine whether the fruit and disease were linked, but tests may be inconclusive, said Louisiana’s state epidemiologist, Dr. Raoult Ratard.
He declined to further identify the woman, describing her only as elderly.
A Baton Rouge man and his brother said their mother, Elaine F. Babcock, 87, of Baton Rouge, died of complications from listeria on Saturday, six days after falling ill.
“We do not know how or when she contracted listeria, or what foods she might have consumed that might have been responsible,” Lance and Thad Hayes wrote in an e-mail sent to The Associated Press from Lance Hayes’ business website. “We realize the public health interest in understanding what caused the infection, and will provide any relevant information as we learn