Five people have now died in a salmonella outbreak linked to two brands of cantaloupe sold across Canada this fall, according to federal officials.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the deaths in its latest update on Thursday, though it did not provide further details.
The outbreak, linked to contaminated Malichita or Rudy brand cantaloupe, has now sickened 129 people across six provinces — nearly double the number of cases since Dec. 1, when there was just a single reported death.
“Obviously, this is a major outbreak,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital.
“The number of cases that are diagnosed
