Americans are being warned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about a listeria outbreak that has sickened more than twenty people in 12 states and may be linked to sandwich meat.
The federal health office says that as of Friday, 28 people have become sick and have all been hospitalized. Two people have died, one from Illinois and one from New Jersey.
With seven cases, New York has the most. Maryland comes in second with six. Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin are some of the other states that have recorded cases.
“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” the CDC said in its Friday update. “This is because some people get better without going to the doctor and aren’t checked for Listeria.” Also, people who got sick recently might not have been reported yet because it takes about three to four weeks to figure out if a sick person is part of an incident.
The CDC said that it and its partners, such as the Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are gathering information to find out where the case came from. A lot of the people who got sick during this outbreak said they ate sliced meats at sandwich counters before they got sick.
At this point, no evidence prepared deli meats are making people sick.
Out of the 18 people who were able to be interviewed, 16 said they ate meats sliced at a deli. The most popular meats mentioned were turkey, liverwurst, and ham. The CDC wrote that meats were cut at several grocery stores and supermarket delis.
The CDC says that cases have been reported from May 29 to July 5. The patients’ ages run from 32 to 94, with 75 being the middle age. 72% of patients say they are white, 23% say they are black or African American, and 5% say they are Asian.
People who eat food that has been tainted with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes can get a very bad illness called listeriosis. The CDC says this can turn into invasive listeriosis when the germs leave the gut and reach other parts of the body.
The CDC said that serious illness symptoms can start anywhere from one to four weeks after eating the contaminated food. They can also start as soon as the same day or as late as 70 days later.
Every year, about 260 people die from listeriosis and about 1,600 people get it. People who are pregnant or who have recently given birth, adults aged 65 and up, and people whose immune systems aren’t working well are the most at risk.
People who aren’t pregnant may have fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, stiff neck, losing their balance, or getting a fever. People who are pregnant are most likely to only have a fever and flu-like symptoms.
People who are more likely to get listeriosis should not eat meat that has been sliced at deli stands unless it has been heated to 165 degrees Fahrenheit or until it is steaming hot right before serving. The agency also says to call your doctor if you think you might have listeriosis and recently ate sliced meat at a deli store.
