The number of deaths associated with cantaloupes tainted with listeria has risen to 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

The Atlanta-based agency says there have been six deaths in Colorado where the cantaloupes were grown, as well as five in New Mexico, two in Texas, Kansas, Louisiana and New York; and one each in Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming,

The CDC said 123 people who have been infected in 26 states. A pregnant woman also had a miscarriage after eating the cantaloupe.

The current outbreak is the second worst case of listeria-related deaths in the United States. In 1985, Mexican style soft cheese tainted with listeria killed 52 people.

The tainted cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo. were recalled in September after being sold for up to two weeks.

Cantaloupes have been the subject of more than 30 food recalls in more than 20 years, making thousands sick.

The CDC has previously warned that more ill persons may be reported because of the time lag between diagnosis and laboratory confirmation and also because up to 2 months can elapse between eating contaminated food and developing listeriosis.

Listeria is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems.

Pregnant women can suffer miscarriages and stillbirths if infected.