July 1, 2022 — A listeria outbreak that originated in Florida has killed one person and sickened nearly two dozen, according to the CDC reported Thursday.
Affected people became ill from January 2021 to June 12, 2022, the CDC said, and “most sick people in this outbreak lived in Florida or traveled to Florida about a month prior to becoming ill.”
So far, the federal agency has not identified a food source as the cause of the outbreak. Health officials are polling people about what foods they’ve eaten. Genetic testing shows people in the outbreak likely got sick from the same food, the CDC said.
The deceased lived in Illinois. Five people became ill during pregnancy and one illness resulted in fetal loss, the CDC said.
The CDC said 23 people were sick and 22 were hospitalized. Twelve sick people live in Florida, New York and Massachusetts each report two sick people. Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania each had one sick person.
The patients ranged in age from 1 to 92 years, with a mean age of 72 years.
“The actual number of sick people in an outbreak is likely higher than the reported number, and the outbreak may not be limited to states with known diseases,” the CDC said. “In addition, recent illnesses may not be reported yet, as it typically takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.”
Listeria bacteria live in soil, water, dust, animal feces, and other substances. They can get sick if you eat foods that carry them.
For most healthy people, the infection doesn’t pose much of a threat, even if it makes you sick for a day or two. But listeria is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and their babies, people whose immune systems are not working properly, and the elderly.
Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, muscle pain and fever.
Comments are closed.