Two people have died in a listeria outbreak across 12 states in the U.S. that is likely linked to sliced deli meats, according to the CDC.
In total, 28 people have been infected and hospitalized with the disease as of Friday in an outbreak that began in May, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The listeria infections have been reported in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.
The two deaths were reported in Illinois and New Jersey, according to the CDC. The agency also noted that one pregnant woman got sick with listeria and remained pregnant after she recovered.
People who got sick reported to state and local officials that they ate “a variety of meats sliced at deli counters” in the month before they got sick. Officials interviewed 18 people, 16 of whom said they ate meats sliced at a deli, and found they most commonly ate turkey, liverwurst and ham. The sliced meats from deli counters came from a variety of supermarket and grocery story delis, according to the CDC.
The CDC said it is comparing foods people who were infected ate in this outbreak to foods people ate who got sick with listeria but were not part of an outbreak, and found that the people in 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.”
There is no information that shows people are getting listeria from prepackaged deli meats, the CDC said.
The agency noted that the true number of those infected in this outbreak is likely higher than the reported number and that the outbreak could be occurring in additional states with no known illnesses.
That’s because some people recover from listeria without any medical care and are therefore never tested for the illness, the CDC said, adding that recent illnesses may not have been reported because it takes three-to-four weeks to determine if someone with listeria is part of an outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is working to identify the supplier of the deli meats that were then sliced at grocery store deli counters and purchased by people who were sick in this outbreak, the CDC said.
The CDC recommends avoiding eating deli meats sliced at a deli counter unless they are heated before eating and advises people who or pregnant, aged 65 or older or have a weakened immune system to contact their doctor if they have any listeria symptoms, which can include fever, flu-like symptoms, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and seizures.
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