The caramel apple Listeria monocytogenes outbreak has targeted pregnant women and their newborn babies who account for almost one third of the cases reported so far. Nine of 28 cases currently reported are related to a pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three of New Mexico’s five cases are newborn boys who developed infections in the womb after their mothers ate the contaminated caramel apples.
Along with older people and those with compromised immune systems, pregnant women are at high risk for Listeria infection. In fact, a pregnant women is ten times more likely than the general population to contract a Listeria infection. If she does, the infection can pass to her fetus causing miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, listeriosis or Listeria meningitis in the infant, or death. In this outbreak, no miscarriages or fetal losses were reported, but premature births and babies with Listeria infections were.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that when Listeria is ingested by a pregnant woman, it makes its way to the placenta where, protected by from the immune system, it multiplies before invading the rest of the body.
Symptoms of a Listeria infection, which can take as long as 70 days after exposure to develop, include fever, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea and upset stomach. But pregnant women may only have a mild illness similar to the flu, even though the effects of that infection are serious. They may suffer miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature labor. And the newborn baby can be born with a serious infection. Anyone who has eaten a prepackaged, commercially prepared caramel apples within the last two months and is experiencing these symptoms should see a doctor. It can take up to 70 days for symptoms to appear.
Because specific product information is not available, except in Minnesota, health officials are warning consumers not to eat any brand of commercially prepared, prepackaged caramel apples until further notice. In Minnesota, the two brands identified – Carnival and Kitchen Cravings, were sold seasonally in the fall at Cub Foods, Kwik Trip, and Mike’s Discount Foods, and are no longer being sold at those stores or elsewhere.
