The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in Canada that is linked to Rosemount brand cooked diced chicken has been declared over, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Meanwhile, there has been no word on the US Listeria outbreak, which was last updated by the CDC on August 23, 2019.
That information is important, because according to the investigation announcement, the patients sickened in the US outbreak are sick with a type of Listeria monocytogenes that is closely related genetically to the bacteria that made people sick in Canada.
In Canada, seven people are sick in three provinces. The case count by province is: British Columbia (1), Manitoba (1), and Ontario (5). Six of the seven Canadian patients have been hospitalized because they were so ill.
The illness onset dates in the Canadian outbreak, as is so common with Listeria monocytogenes illnesses, run from November 2017 through June 2019. It’s typical that more patients are discovered and added to outbreak case counts through whole genome sequencing; officials look for those genetic similarities in illnesses that are reported years before the actual outbreak is announced.
The Canadian outbreak is linked to Rosemount brand cooked chicken. Several other brands of cooked chicken were also recalled; you can see the brand names, UPC numbers, and other information about those recalled products at the CFIA web site. Not every recalled product has been associated with the Canadian outbreak.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Listeria monocytogenes food poisoning, you can contact attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker, who has represented many clients with Listeria monocytogenes food poisoning, said, “We certainly hope that the CDC identifies a product in the US that has made so many people seriously ill. No one should get sick because they ate a chicken salad sandwich for lunch.”
In the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in the United States, 24 people are sick in 13 states; 22 of those patients have been hospitalized and two of them have died as of August 23, 2019. The CDC has not identified any specific food item, grocery store, or restaurant chain as a source of the infections. But there have been several recalls of cooked chicken for possible Listeria contamination in the past several months.
The original recall in the U.S. was for Tip Top chicken products. Quite a few secondary recalls have been issued starting in October 2019 because the products were made with recalled Tip Top Chicken. All of the recall notices, however, state that no illnesses have been linked to these recalled products.
Symptoms of listeriosis, the illness caused by this pathogen, include high fever, stiff neck, severe headache, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea. Pregnant women can suffer miscarriages and stillbirth if they contract this illness, even though they may believe they only have the flu. If you have been experiencing these symptoms, contact your doctor.
