CDC Warns of ‘Listeria’ Outbreak Linked to Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products

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A CDC food safety alert regarding a multistate outbreak of Listeria infections has been posted at Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products | Listeria Infection | CDC.

Key Points:

• Eleven people infected with this outbreak strain Listeria have been reported from four states. Of the eleven people infected, nine people have been hospitalized. One person, an infant, has died in California. 
• Interviews with sick people and laboratory findings show that Yu-Shang Food ready-to-eat meat and poultry products are making people sick.
• These items have been recalled, but some items may still be in people’s refrigerators or freezers. Examples of recalled foods include pork hock, chicken feet, pork feet, duck neck, beef shank, and pork tongue. Questions about the recall should be directed to the USDA-FSIS.

What You Should Do:

• Do not eat recalled products. Throw them away or return them to where you bought them.
• Clean your refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the recalled foods. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
• Call a healthcare provider right away if you have symptoms after eating recalled products.

What Businesses Should Do:

• Do not sell or serve recalled products.
• Follow the FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice if you sold or served recalled products.

Listeria Symptoms:

• Listeria is especially harmful to people who are pregnant, aged 65 or older, or with weakened immune systems. This is because Listeria is more likely to spread beyond their gut to other parts of the body, resulting in a severe condition known as invasive listeriosis.
  • For people who are pregnant, Listeria can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in their newborn.
  • For people who are 65 years or older or who have a weakened immune system, Listeria often results in hospitalization and sometimes death.
• Symptoms usually start within 2 weeks after eating food contaminated with Listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after.
  • Pregnant people usually have fever, muscle aches, and tiredness.
  • People who are not pregnant usually have fever, muscle aches, and tiredness. They may also get a headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures.

If you have questions about cases in a particular state, please call that state’s health department.