GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Officials confirm at least nine people have died, including one in Florida because of the listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head deli meat products.
All 57 patients have been hospitalized with ranging symptoms from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even death.
Nicole Iovine, Chief Hospital Epidemiologist with UF Health, says that until the outbreak is resolved, you may want to steer clear of the deli section, especially for people who are compromised, elderly or pregnant.
“People who contract Listeria, majority of them end up hospitalized. And that's not true for salmonella or E. coli, for example, other causes of foodborne illness,” she said.
While less than 1% of all illnesses are caused by Listeria, it is responsible for 25% of the deaths that occur due to foodborne illness and usually the symptoms take up to two weeks to show up.
“Persons who are elderly, people who are immunocompromised, pregnant women and newborns are particularly susceptible to what we call invasive disease with Listeria. Meaning that it doesn't just stay confined to our gut. It actually invades through our gut, gets into the bloodstream and can cause serious infections in other places like meningitis,” she explained.
Iovine recommends avoiding deli meat products at the grocery store until the outbreak is over. And to throw out any meats in your fridge because it’s a tougher microorganism to kill.
“It doesn't care if the temperatures are cold. Whereas other organisms are a little more fragile. But Listeria, you can have deli meat that is contaminated, you put it in your fridge and when you take it out to eat it, it will still be contaminated and can make you sick,” Iovine added.
In recent reports from the Department of Agriculture, they found unsanitary conditions in the Boar's Head deli meat factory impacting dozens of different products.
“When you go get your Boar's Head, you know, bologna or liverwurst or whatever it is, it goes on that slicer right in the in the, in the deli. Now that slicer gets contaminated by the Listeria and then somebody else comes along and says, 'Oh, I wanna get, you know, some Swiss cheese'. That slicer can infect the cheese that is being sliced and being given to you,” explained Iovine.
Iovine says that if you get in contract Listeria not to wait till you experience symptoms. You should contact your health provider immediately. Depending on your current condition will impact the next step for treatment.