Death toll rises in listeria outbreak

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Five more deaths are blamed on the listeria outbreak involving tainted cantaloupe.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 28 deaths, including five in New Mexico, have been linked to what is now called the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the U.S. in more than a decade.

Another 133 other people have been sickened.

The federal Food and Drug Administration said unsanitary conditions at the packing facility used by the cantaloupe farm may have led to the contamination.

The Rocky Ford brand cantaloupes were recalled last month.