Papaya salmonella outbreak kills 1, infects 46 others

One person died and 46 others in 12 states contracted salmonella linked to yellow Maradol papayas, the CDC said Friday. (CDC) (Evgeniy Ivanov)

A person in New York City died after contracting salmonella from eating fresh papaya, an outbreak that has infected 46 other people in 12 states, federal health officials announced on Friday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella outbreak was linked to Caribena brand yellow Maradol papayas from Mexico that are sold in states including New York, New Jersey, Utah and Kentucky. The papayas are distributed by Grande Produce in San Juan, Texas. Of the 47 cases reported, at least 12 people were hospitalized.

No other brands have been named in the outbreak.

Federal health officials were notified of the outbreak after cases were reported between May 17 and June 28. People between the ages of 1 and 97 were sickened after eating the fruit, the CDC reported.

Officials are urging restaurants and consumers to toss the fruit if they purchased it -- despite if it's a yellow or green papaya.

"When in doubt, don’t eat, sell, or serve them and throw them out," the CDC said.

The number of salmonella cases is expected to increase to include people who were sickened after June 23, but did not show symptoms until later. Several people also fell ill after eating papayas bought from the same grocery store in Maryland.

Salmonella outbreak linked to papayas have occurred before. In 2011, 97 people in 23 states were sickened after contracting salmonella from eating papayas.

About 1.2 million people are infected with salmonella in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC.