United States: At least 28 people have been hospitalized, and two others have died in a multi-state outbreak of listeria linked to deli meat and health officials are showing their concern regarding the spread of listeria outbreak and managing to get rid of this.
CDC have noted in an investigation notice posted Friday that the true number of illnesses is likely higher due to reporting delays and untested mild cases.
Geographic Spread
As reported by HealthDay, shown illnesses include seven in New York, six in Maryland, two each in Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and Virginia, and one each in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Shockingly the deaths have been reported in the Illinois and New Jersey, and the first person who got sick on the last days of May and the recent case was reported on 5th of July.
Timeline and Risk
The main cause of this outbreak is pointing towards the deli meat so no recalls have been issued the CDC noted but the agency stressed that the risk groups which majorly includes pregnant women and those 65 year older with the weakened immune system and should avoid eating deli meat unless it’s been heated until it steams or reaches an Internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Investigation Insights
It’s almost 18 people whom public health experts have been able to interview during the particular outbreak and 16 reported eating meats sliced at a deli in the month before they got sick and there are no reports of the people getting sick after eating packaged deli meat CDC added.
There have been a lot of people who literally fell ill reported eating turkey or liverwurst and while some of them reported eating ham, this could be really dangerous as meats came from a variety of grocery store delis.
And CDC doesn’t have enough information to say which deli meats are the source of this outbreak, the agency noted.
Health Warning
However, this DNA tests shows the bacteria from the sick people was genetically similar, suggesting they probably caught the illness from the same food the CDC said.
Listeria bacteria can cause listeriosis, the third-leading cause of death from the food- borne illness in the United States.