Tomato-borne salmonella infection continues to ravage the US population, according to the latest statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More exactly, 756 people in 34 states and the District of Columbia have been infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, a rare strain of bacteria. About 95 people of them needed hospitalization.

The good news is that no deaths have been attributed to the infection so far, the CDC said in a statement.

The most hit states are Texas with 330 cases and New Mexico with 80 cases.

The source of infection has not been found yet, but the FDA believes the salmonella contamination likely started in Florida or Mexico, the two major tomato-producing areas.

That’s why the FDA sent investigators to farms in the two states last week to examine steps along the distribution chain, from farms to packinghouses and distribution centers, to try to discover the source of the outbreak. The source, however, has remained a mystery so far.

Until further information people should stay away from raw red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes and consume only cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or tomatoes grown at home, which were declared safe.

People can also find on the FDA’s Web site a list of approved growing regions where tomatoes are declared safe.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that causes fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain starting 12 to 72 hours after infection, the FDA warned. The disease can be extremely dangerous for young children, frail or elderly people and those whose immune system is weakened.

People usually choose to let the disease heal by itself, but in some cases treatment with antibiotics is needed to prevent the infection spreading from the intestines to the bloodstream, a condition that could turn fatal.