Arizona woman is third victim of widespread salmonella outbreak

Health officials on Friday said a Pima County woman’s death has been linked to the salmonella outbreak, which was traced to cucumbers.

Health officials in Pima County, Ariz., confirmed an “older female who had serious underlying health conditions died while being treated” for a salmonella infection in a hospital.

A third death is now linked to the salmonella poona outbreak associated with fresh cucumbers imported by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce Inc.

The outbreak has made 418 people ill in 31 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Andrew & Williamson recalled all whole, fresh cucumbers it sold from August 1 through September 3 that had come from its grower partner Rancho Don Juanito in Baja California, Mexico. Only four of the cases involved people over age 55.

People who prepare food in nursing homes, assisted living, health and childcare settings, or other venues where medically vulnerable individuals should take extra precautions to ensure that they are not using recalled cucumbers.

Pima County Health Department has been actively participating in the recall by taking samples and notifying retailers where individuals indicated they might have consumed cucumbers from their location.

Dr. Francisco Garcia, director of Pima County Health Services, said there are still cases of infection to worry about. Organization authorities said they have willfully reviewed the majority of its Limited Edition brand name cucumbers sold between August 1 and September 3.

While the CDC has not provided a list of the stores and restaurants that had served the cucumbers, stores like Savemart, Walmart, Food 4 Less, Winco and Ralphs had also removed them from the shelves when the recall was issued.