The CDC reports that a listeria outbreak that has spread to 12 states in the United States and claimed two lives is probably related to sliced deli meats.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Friday, 28 people had contracted the virus and were being treated in hospitals as a result of an outbreak that started in May.
States including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts have recorded cases of listeria infections.
The CDC states that the two fatalities were reported from Illinois and New Jersey. Additionally, the FDA said that one pregnant woman contracted listeria and continued to be pregnant even after she recovered.
Sick individuals informed state and local authorities that they had consumed “a variety of meats sliced at deli counters” in the month preceding their illness. The most popular foods that officials discovered were turkey, liverwurst and gammon. Of the 18 people they examined, 16 admitted to eating meats that were sliced at a deli. The CDC claims that a range of supermarket and grocery story delis supplied the sliced meats that were served at deli counters.
According to the CDC, foods consumed by those infected during this outbreak are being compared to foods consumed by those who contracted listeria but were not a part of the outbreak. The comparison reveals that those infected during this outbreak were “more likely to eat deli-sliced turkey and liverwurst.”
“This information suggests that meats sliced at the deli are a likely source of this outbreak,” the CDC said. “However, at this time CDC doesn’t have enough information to say which deli meats are the source of this outbreak.”
According to the CDC, there is no evidence that packed deli meats cause listeria infections in humans.
The agency stated that it is possible that the outbreak is spreading to other states where there are no documented diseases and that the actual number of cases affected in this outbreak is probably larger than the number that has been recorded.
This is because some people recover from listeria without receiving medical attention, and as a result, they are never tested for the illness, according to the CDC. They also mentioned that because it takes three to four weeks to identify whether a person with listeria is a part of an outbreak, recent illnesses might not have been recorded.
According to the CDC, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is attempting to determine the source of the deli meats that were sliced at grocery store deli counters and bought by individuals who were ill during this epidemic.
The CDC advises people who are pregnant, 65 years of age or older, or who have a compromised immune system to get in touch with their doctor if they experience any symptoms of listeria, which can include fever, flu-like symptoms, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures. They also advise against eating deli meats that have been sliced at a deli counter unless they have been heated before eating.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
