One person has died and 22 people have been hospitalized in a listeria outbreak, with most of the infected people having been in Florida about a month before becoming ill, federal officials said Thursday.
A food source has not been identified as the cause of the outbreak, which sickened people in 10 states from January 2021 to June 12, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
It usually takes three or four weeks to determine whether an illness is linked to an outbreak, so recent cases may not be reported in the data. The true number of cases is likely higher because some people recover without medical help, the agency said.
The flu-like symptoms of listeriosis – fever, vomiting and diarrhea – most often affect older people, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women, who can pass it on to their fetus. Pregnant women are 10 times more likely to become infected than other people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms usually begin within two weeks of consuming contaminated food. The CDC said people who are at higher risk of infection and who have symptoms should talk to their health care providers, especially if they have recently traveled to Florida.
The agency asked the public for help in uncovering the source of the outbreak. Those with symptoms should write down what they can remember about what they ate in the month before they got sick, the CDC said.
The deceased lived in Illinois, the agency said, adding that 12 of the sick lived in Florida. New York and Massachusetts each had two cases, while Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania reported one case each. The sick people ranged in age from 1 to 92, with a median age of 72, the CDC said.
“Five people became ill during their pregnancies, and one illness resulted in fetal loss,” the agency said.
Listeria bacteria can be found in soil, water and animal feces. People can become infected by eating foods that have been contaminated, including meat, unpasteurized milk, raw vegetables and some processed foods such as hot dogs and deli meats, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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