Thread: Deadliest listeria outbreak in 25 years

CDC: Deadliest listeria outbreak in 25 years

From staff and wire reports
Updated 2h 4m ago

WASHINGTON – An outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe is now linked to 23 deaths, making it the deadliest known outbreak of foodborne illness in the USA in more than 25 years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that 116 people have been sickened in the outbreak, including those who died. The number of deaths has now surpassed a 1998 outbreak of listeria in processed meats that was linked to 21 deaths. A 1985 listeria outbreak in Mexican-style soft cheeses killed 52 people.

The tainted Colorado cantaloupes should be off store shelves by now; they were recalled in mid-September and their shelf life is about two weeks. But the number of deaths may continue to grow, because the symptoms of listeria can take up to two months to appear.

MORE: Listeria threat lingers despite recall
PHOTOS: A history of outbreaks

The CDC on Wednesday confirmed two more deaths in Louisiana that the state had said it was investigating last week. Other deaths have been reported in Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. Colorado and New Mexico reported five deaths each.

The outbreak has been linked to Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes sold by Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo. The cantaloupes were recalled Sept. 14. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration said any cantaloupes not from Jensen Farms are safe to eat.

The first illnesses began after July 31. Symptoms of listeriosis can take up to two months to develop in someone who has eaten contaminated food, so illnesses could continue to show up into November, the CDC said.

The FDA and CDC have had teams in Jensen Farms fields and packing sheds, testing the soil, water and surfaces for clues. A report on the FDA's findings is anticipated in the coming weeks. In the past, listeria has been most strongly linked to deli meats and soft cheeses, not produce.

Listeria bacteria grow in moist, muddy conditions and live in the guts of animals, which can transport them into fields. When humans are infected with the bacteria, they develop listeriosis, which is a rare but dangerous illness that kills approximately 30% of its victims. It can send up to 90% of elderly people who get it to the hospital.

It is especially dangerous for pregnant women, in whom it can cause a mild illness, but it can also result in stillbirths or miscarriages.

The CDC has reported illnesses in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Colorado has the most illnesses with 34, while Texas has reported 17, New Mexico 13 and Oklahoma 11.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-fo ... 50745862/1

Colo. Farmers Arrested in Fatal Listeria Outbreak

DENVER September 27, 2013 (AP)
By STEVEN K. PAULSON and DAN ELLIOTT Associated Press




The owners of a Colorado cantaloupe farm were arrested Thursday on charges stemming from a 2011 listeria epidemic that killed 33 people in one of the nation's deadliest outbreaks of foodborne illness.

Federal prosecutors said brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen were arrested on misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. Each man faces six counts.

Prosecutors said the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the Jensens didn't adequately clean the cantaloupe.

Criminal charges in food poisoning cases are rare, said attorney William Marler, who represents many of the listeria victims in civil cases. Only four other people have faced such charges in the past decade, he said.

Marler noted that felony charges would have required prosecutors to show the contamination was intentional.

"The real significance of the case against the Jensens is they are being charged with misdemeanors, which do not require intent, just the fact that they shipped contaminated food using interstate commerce," he said.

The FDA has said the melons likely were contaminated in Jensen Farms' packing house. It concluded that dirty water on a floor, and old, hard-to-clean equipment probably were to blame.

The epidemic was the deadliest outbreak of foodborne illness in 25 years, and it delivered a serious blow to Colorado cantaloupe farmers. The CDC said people living in 28 states consumed the contaminated fruit.

A number of lawsuits were filed by people who were sickened or who had a family member die after the outbreak.

Eric Jensen, 37, and Ryan Jensen, 33, could face up to six years in prison and up to $1.5 million in fines each if they are convicted of all counts against them, prosecutors said.

The Jensens' farm in southeastern Colorado filed for bankruptcy after the outbreak.

The FDA said Jensen Farms had bought the used processing equipment just before the outbreak, and it was corroded, dirty and hard to clean. The packing facility floors were also constructed so they were hard to clean, so pools of water potentially harboring the bacteria formed close to the packing equipment, according to the FDA.

The dirty equipment previously was used to wash and dry potatoes, the agency said, and the listeria could have been introduced as a result of its past use.

The FDA said the way the cantaloupes were cooled after being picked may have exacerbated the listeria growth, and that another possible source of contamination was a truck that frequently hauled cantaloupe to a cattle operation and was parked near the packing house.

The outbreak was a setback for farms in Colorado's revered Rocky Ford cantaloupe region, where hot, sunny days and cold nights produce fruit known for its distinct sweetness.

Jensen Farms was about 90 miles away from Rocky Ford, but the Jensens used the Rocky Ford name, and sales dropped across the region. Later, Rocky Ford farmers registered Rocky Ford Cantaloupe as a trademark, hired a full-time food safety manager and built a central packing operation where melons are washed and rinsed.

Tammie Palmer, whose husband, Charles, became ill after eating the cantaloupe and died this year, said the criminal case won't help her.

"My husband is already dead," said Palmer, of Colorado Springs.

She said a just outcome would be some way of preventing the Jensens from farming again or having any involvement with the food industry.

Palmer and her husband filed a lawsuit seeking $2 million from Jensen Farms but it hasn't been resolved.

"I was hoping everything would be settled and I could do something with my husband, but that's not going to happen," she said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/colo-farmers-arrested-fatal-listeria-outbreak-20388501