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Listeria Outbreak Causes a Death in New Mexico

This image provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in July 2024 shows a label for Boar's Head liverwurst. The company recalled 7 million pounds of deli meats on July 30, 2024, expanding an initial recall on July 25 after a liverwurst sample collected in Maryland tested positive for listeria. (USDA via AP)
AP
/
USDA
This image provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in July 2024 shows a label for Boar's Head liverwurst. The company recalled 7 million pounds of deli meats on July 30, 2024, expanding an initial recall on July 25 after a liverwurst sample collected in Maryland tested positive for listeria. (USDA via AP)

By Jonel Aleccia
Adapted for radio by S. Baxter Clinton

(AP) At least nine people have died after being infected with listeria from Boar's Head deli meats tied to a massive recall last month, federal health officials said Wednesday.

The new food poisoning toll includes two deaths in South Carolina plus one each in Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee and New York, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Three deaths were previously confirmed in people who lived in Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia.

At least 57 people have been sickened and hospitalized in the outbreak. Illnesses were reported starting in late May and have continued into August, the agency said. It is the largest listeria outbreak in the U.S. since 2011, and Boar’s Head has recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli products.

Listeria infections are caused by a hardy type of bacteria that can survive and even thrive during refrigeration. An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC. Infections can be hard to pinpoint because symptoms may occur quickly — or up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food.

The infections are especially dangerous for older people, those who are pregnant or those with weakened immune systems.

The problem was discovered when a Boar’s Head liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. Further testing showed that the type of bacteria was the same strain causing illnesses in people.

Boar’s Head officials originally recalled liverwurst and other products meant to be sliced in retail delis with sell-by dates from July 25 to Aug. 30. On July 29, the recall was expanded to include all foods produced at the firm’s plant in Jarratt, Virginia. The products included those sliced at deli counters as well as some prepackaged retail sausage, frankfurters and bacon.

All the recalled deli meats have been removed from stores and are no longer available, Boar’s Head officials said on the company’s website. The products were distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said.

CDC officials urged consumers to check their refrigerators for the recalled products. Look for EST. 12612 or P-12612 inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels, some of which have sell-by dates that extend into October. Discard recalled foods and thoroughly clean and sanitize the refrigerator and other surfaces they touched.

(Again the mark on the recalled Boar's Head deli products is inside the USDA mark of inspection; EST. 12612 or p 12612)