The Ohio Department of Health announced Friday that four deaths have been reported among the 67 cases and 19 people have been hospitalized.
Sixty-seven cases of salmonella poisoning have been reported in Ohio, the most in any state during a nationwide outbreak linked to peanut butter products.
Ohio has now surpassed California in the number of cases reported.
There are six reported food poisoning cases in Georgia so far, but no deaths.
As the recall of salmonella-tainted peanut butter products widens, a Washington state lawyer is now calling on the Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America to pay funeral costs for several of those who died from food poisoning.
PCA officials say they’re laying off nearly all of the workers at the Blakely facility, and will only keep several managers on duty.
Local officials say 40 to 50 people are employed at the plant.
(Source: CDC)
"As of 9PM EDT, Wednesday, January 22, 2009, 491 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 43 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (1), Arizona (10), Arkansas (4), California (62), Colorado (12), Connecticut (9), Georgia (6), Hawaii (3), Idaho (11), Illinois (6), Indiana (4), Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Maine (4), Maryland (8), Massachusetts (42), Michigan (25), Minnesota (35), Missouri (9), Mississippi (3), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (11), New Jersey (19), New York (18), Nevada (5), North Carolina (6), North Dakota (10), Ohio (67), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (7), Pennsylvania (14), Rhode Island (4), South Dakota (2), Tennessee (9), Texas (6), Utah (5), Vermont (4), Virginia (20), Washington (13), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (3), and Wyoming (2). Additionally, one ill person was reported from Canada."
(Source: CDC)
As the salmonella recall of products containing peanut butter continues to expand, a Washington state lawyer is calling on the company with Georgia operations to pay funeral costs for the six people believed to have died from the outbreak.
That comes as Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America announced it's laying off the majority of it's workforce.
Click here for more on this developing story.
(With John Sepulvado and the AP)
