Two El Abuelito Listeria pregnancy related illnesses were added to the listeriosis soft cheese outbreak total last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That company’s queso fresco cheese was recalled earlier this month because lab tests conducted by the Connecticut Department of Health found the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes in one sample of the product. Also last week, two more types of El Abuelito cheese were recalled: Quesillo (Oaxaca and string cheese) and Requeson (ricotta).
The outbreak patient age range went from 45 to 75 with seven ill in the first outbreak notice to less than 1 year to 75 with ten sick in the latest notice, indicating that an infant was sickened. The outbreak notice states “Two illnesses are pregnancy-related.” The CDC told Food Poisoning Bulletin that two of the illnesses are in a newborn and a pregnant woman who are unrelated; both are Hispanic.
When a pregnant woman contracts listeriosis, the infection can pass to the fetus through the placenta, and the baby can be born with a serious infection.
This outbreak is linked to Hispanic style soft and fresh cheeses. Statistically, pregnant women are at high risk for contracting listeriosis when they eat soft cheeses. And Hispanic women have an even higher risk of serious illness; that group is 24 times more likely than the general public to contract this infection. Listeriosis causes premature labor, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Unfortunately, research has shown that most pregnant women are simply unaware of this risk.
You can contact food safety attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
The history of Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks and pregnancy related listeriosis illnesses and loss to soft and fresh cheeses is long and sadly tragic. Noted food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker, who has represented clients in lawsuits against food manufacturers, restaurants, and supermarkets, said, “People who make and sell these cheese products simply need to be more vigilant to prevent contamination in the first place. These illnesses and losses are preventable.”
If you have eaten El Abuelito cheese and have been ill with the symptoms of listeriosis, which for pregnant women are only mild and flu-like, see your doctor, especially if you are pregnant. You may be part of this El Abuelito Listeria pregnancy related illness outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a listeriosis infection after eating El Abuelito cheeses, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
