Recent Listeria Outbreak associated To Cheese

In recent times, Listeria was identified as the reason of 1 death and 4 others being sickened in 4 states; the Listeria was associated to cheese disseminated by Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company based in Waterlo at Wisconsin.

On 3rd July, Crave Brothers voluntarily recalled numerous lots of its cheese products,– Petit Frère, Les Frères, & Petit Frère with Truffles cheeses through production dates of 1st July, 2013 or earlier because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contagion.

 

Whole Foods announced on 5th July that they have hauled these products off their shelves behind the Crave Brothers announced their recall.

Listeriosis is a serious illness & is typically the consequence of eating food polluted by the bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes. Listeria is usually contracted by eating poorly developed deli meats & unpasteurized milk products. Listeria was also recognized in a recent outbreak eventually linked to stained cantaloupes in September through October, 2011, wherein thirty three people died out of one hundred forty seven people being sickened.

 

Listeria is more of a concern in the very young, the elderly, and those with destabilized immune systems. Pregnant women are also at risk for stillbirths and miscarriages, as well as other effects of the bacteria, most frequently in their 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Patients taking corticosteroids in addition to those undergoing chemotherapy are mainly at risk. However, in some rare cases, healthy persons with no specific risk factors may also be affected.

Listeria monocytogenes naturally causes gastrointestinal symptoms for example nausea, vomiting, diarrhea &abdominal pain, together with fatigue & muscle aches. It also may create symptoms regarding to meningitis such as a stiff neck along with a frontal headache & fever, which can development to encephalitis with delirium and confusion.

Public health investigators use a technique referred to like DNA fingerprinting using pulsed field gel electrophoresis or PFGE to recognize the “fingerprints” of potential bacteria concerned in outbreaks of assumed foodborne illness. Nationwide & worldwide, a data bank of such fingerprints acquired from state, local, and federal agencies has been created & organized into what is referred to as Pulsenet.

Pulsenet analyzes & compares the DNA fingerprints from diverse patients to determine if a possible cluster of cases is developing which could signify an early outbreak. The CDC monitors this activity directly in an ongoing effort to guard the public. The Listeria initiative is other surveillance network that identifies new cases of Listeria which are eventually reported to Pulsenet.

Antibiotics usually used to treat Listeria contain penicillin, trimethoprim ampicillin, as well as erythromycin, gentamicin and tetracycline. There have been numerous reports of multidrug resistant (MDR) Listeria in the past a number of years, specially to tetracycline as well as erythromycin. Scientists have newly identified specific resistance plasmids exclusive to Listeria which harbor certain sequences that are concerned in resistance to particular drugs.