PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A man who tested positive for salmonella in an outbreak that may be linked to a Rhode Island bakery has died.
State health department spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth said Tuesday the man died March 23.
The man was in his 80s and lived in Providence County. He tested positive for the strain of the bacteria that has now sickened 39 people.
Beardsworth says 24 of those people have been hospitalized.
Officials say many of the people ate doughnut-like pastries called zeppoles (ZAY'-puh-luhz) made by DeFusco's Bakery in Johnston. The pastries also were sold at other stores around the state and have been recalled. The bakery has voluntarily shut down until further notice.
Beardsworth says officials are investigating whether the man who died ate one of the pastries.