DENVER (AP) -- Families affected by the Listeria outbreak are reporting disturbing details of the illness: One day their loved ones were leading normal lives and the next they were suffering agonizing symptoms.

Officials say at least 15 people have died and 84 have become ill in 19 states.

Health officials haven't released their names, but families who filed lawsuits over the outbreak say the victims include a feisty 87-year-old from Oklahoma, a hardy 71-year-old former Marine from Colorado and a woman from Texas who turned 66 just after she was released from a hospital a second time.

The elderly and those with compromised immune systems are especially at risk.

Cantaloupes linked to the outbreak have been recalled but more people could fall ill because symptoms can take weeks to surface.

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