Three dead, 558 sick in cucumber salmonella outbreak

320x180_21115P00-HKWQR (NBC News) Three people have died and at least 558 have been infected in an outbreak of salmonella linked to imported cucumbers, federal officials said Tuesday.

Although the company that distributed the vegetables has recalled them, more infections are being diagnosed by laboratory tests, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Of the infected consumers, 112 have been hospitalized and more than half of them are children.

The three deaths were in Arizona, California and Texas.

The recalled cucumbers were distributed in at least 21 other states: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah.