as part of the investigation , '' said FDA spokesman Michael Herndon . What you need to know about food poisoning Â '' The Minnesota bacteria were linked last week to institutionally distributed peanut butter , sold under the King Nut brand name . In one of the Minnesota patients , a 70-year-old female nursing home resident , the infection proved fatal , said Doug Schultz , a Minnesota public health department spokesman . `` We do not know to what extent the salmonella contributed to the death , '' said Schultz , who added that the patient had other underlying illnesses . Virginia Health officials confirm that two of the three deaths linked to the salmonella outbreak were from their state . Although she could not provide a lot of information due to privacy laws , Michelle Peregoy , a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Health tells CNN that one person who died was over age 65 and from the Southwest part of the state , the other person who died was a younger adult between the ages of 25-64 . As with the Minnesota patient , both Virgina patients had underlying illnesses , which means they had
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Federal and state health officials said Monday that salmonella linked last week in Minnesota to King Nut peanut butter was caused by the same strain of bacteria responsible for an ongoing outbreak of 410 salmonella cases in 43 states . Salmonella bacteria are transmitted to humans by eating contaminated foods . The infection may have contributed to three deaths , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday . `` Preliminary analysis of an epidemiologic study conducted by CDC and public health officials in multiple states comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons has suggested peanut butter as a likely source , '' the disease agency said in a written statement . `` To date , no association has been found with common brand names of peanut butter sold in grocery stores . '' A spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said Monday that the agency has been collaborating with the CDC , the U.S. Department of Agriculture and public health officials in many states to investigate the outbreak of infections due to Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium . `` This new information from Minnesota will not change what we are currently doing