NUMBER OF PERSONS SICKENED BY BLUE BELL LISTERIA OUTBREAK IS ON THE RISE

  

Federal health authorities say three additional people have become ill from a foodborne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products.

The Associated Press is reporting that a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that the number of people sickened by listeriosis has increased.

The CDC says three people in Texas have the same strain of listeria previously found in five others at a Wichita, Kansas hospital. Three of the five in Kansas died.

The CDC did not indicate when the people in Texas became ill or where they are.

Blue Bell has temporarily closed a production plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, after traces of the pathogen were found there.

Blue Bell on Tuesday announced a third product recall as a result of the contamination.