Three more people have been sickened in an outbreak of listeria linked to packaged salads that has already claimed the life of one person in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday.
The latest illnesses were reported in New York, Connecticut and Missouri, increasing the total number of cases by three since figures were last reported on Jan. 22, according to CDC’s website. The last diagnosed illness was on Jan. 3.
Fifteen people have been hospitalized in the current outbreak, which began last July and has spread across eight states. One person in Michigan died as a result of the illness.
The “likely” source of the outbreak is packaged salads produced at the Dole’s processing facility in Springfield, Ohio, the CDC stated, citing epidemiologic and laboratory evidence.
The investigation into the outbreak began back in September, but the source of the infection wasn’t discovered until earlier this month.
There is nothing to indicate that other products originating from Dole processing facilities in the U.S. are linked to the illness, the agency reported.
The new figures were reported on day after Dole voluntarily recalled all salad mixes produced at the Springfield facility. Last week, the company temporarily suspending operations at the Ohio production facility, and voluntarily withdrew all products processed at the location, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The voluntary recall impacted five other brands: Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President’s Choice Organics.
CDC has urged people not to eat salad mixes from those brands that were produced at the facility and packaged in bags and plastic clamshell containers. The products have manufacturing codes that begin with the letter “A.”
The states included in the recall, according to the FDA, are: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Three Canadian provinces — Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec — are also included in the voluntary recall.
Listeria is the bacterium that causes listeriosis, a potentially deadly infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract and causes serious illness. The infection can lead to high fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headaches and nausea; it can be especially dangerous for pregnant women, children, those older than 65, and anyone with a weakened immune system.
There are about 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths per year as a result of listeriosis, according to CDC estimates.
