(23 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Brunswick, New Jersey – 23 July 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Schaffner, food safety expert, Rutgers University:
"What the CDC is telling us is that the people who are sick have reported eating meat that has been sliced at a deli counter at a store. And so if you go to the store and you buy prepackaged packages of deli meats that are sitting, not coming from the deli counter, but that are just sitting in the refrigerated foods section of the case, those kinds of products are not implicated in this outbreak."
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2. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Schaffner, food safety expert, Rutgers University:
"With respect to listeria especially, this is really an illness of immunocompromised people. So if you’re over 65, if you’re immunocompromised, if you’re pregnant, those are the people that are really…or perhaps a small child, you are truly at risk."
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3. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Schaffner, food safety expert, Rutgers University:
"If you have deli meats that have been sliced at a deli counter in your refrigerator now, and you are somebody who is immunocompromised, I would caution you about eating those, eating those products. Now, what you can do, although it’s a little bit weird and most people don’t do this with their- with their deli meats, but you can take those deli meats and you can heat them in your microwave, or you can heat them on the stove. And the CDC is recommending that you heat to a temperature of 165°F."
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4. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Schaffner, food safety expert, Rutgers University
"This is an evolving situation. It may- things may quiet down and we may- the CDC may eventually declare the outbreak over or we may learn more, which will cause the outbreak to expand."
STORYLINE:
As U.S. health officials investigate a fatal outbreak of listeria food poisoning, they’re advising people who are pregnant, elderly or have compromised immune systems to avoid eating sliced deli meat unless it’s recooked at home to be steaming hot.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t mandate a food recall as of early Saturday, because it remains unclear what specific products have been contaminated with the bacteria now blamed for two deaths and 28 hospitalizations across 12 states. This means the contaminated food may still be in circulation, and consumers should consider their personal risk level when consuming deli meats.
Federal health officials warned on Friday that the number of illnesses is likely an undercount, because people who recover at home aren’t likely to be tested. For the same reason, the outbreak may have spread wider than the states where listeria infections have been reported, mostly in the Midwest and along the U.S. eastern coast.
The largest number known to get sick — seven — were in New York, according to the CDC. The people who died were from Illinois and New Jersey.
What investigators have learned
Of the people investigators have been able to interview, “89% reported eating meats sliced at a deli, most commonly deli-sliced turkey, liverwurst, and ham. Meats were sliced at a variety of supermarket and grocery store delis,” the CDC said.
And samples collected from victims from May 29 to July 5 show the bacteria is closely related genetically.
What to expect if you’re infected
It can be diagnosed by testing bodily fluids, usually blood, and sometimes urine or spinal fluid, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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