An infant has died and at least 10 others have been infected amid a multi-state listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat meat.
On Friday, November 22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared the latest data related to the outbreak, days after the recall of more Yu Shang Food prepared meat and poultry products.
According to the organization, the dead child was a twin, and listeria was found in the sample of both them and their mother. The child’s twin also died, but no listeria was found in their sample. (Another child was also reported to have become ill but recovered, the CDC said.)
Those who became ill included one person in New York, another in New Jersey, two residents of Illinois and seven people in California, according to the CDC, which said “the true number of cases is likely higher than the number reported.”
“This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for listeria,” the CDC wrote. “Additionally, recent illnesses may not yet be reported because it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine whether a sick person is part of an outbreak.”
Deli meat listeria outbreak results in 6 more deaths — Here’s what the CDC says
An example of a Yu Shang Food product.
USDA
The CDC stated that seven people said they shopped at markets that sold Shang Food products, and two people said they specifically ate Yu Shang Food chicken.
On October 21, “routine testing” by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered the contaminated products. A recall of prepared meat and poultry products was then issued on November 9, followed by an expanded recall on November 21, in response to Listeria monocytogenes infections.
Of the 11 infected people — whose samples were collected from Oct. 24, 2021, to July 31, 2024 — the average age was 64, and all identified as Asian, according to the CDC.
Laboratory data released by the CDC suggested that people involved in the outbreak “got sick from the same food” after a method called “whole genome sequencing” revealed that samples from infected people were “genetically closely related.”
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The specific products being recalled include all products with “Yu Shang” on the label, company numbers “P46684” and “EST. M46684,” and all products manufactured before October 28.
According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service, this includes more than 20 products, such as “braised pork belly in brown sauce,” “spicy pork snout” and “spicy chicken quarter leg.”
“Consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns,” the USDA announced. “People outside these risk groups are less frequently affected.”
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Symptoms of listeriosis can include headache, fever, muscle aches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and “convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea,” according to the USDA, with the infection potentially causing miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and other consequences in pregnant women. .
Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Those who bought the recalled products are urged to throw them away or return them to the store.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education