An American has died of deadly listeria amid a growing outbreak linked to soft cheeses.
Maryland-based Clover Hill Dairy announced last week it is recalling all its Soft Ricotta/Requeson Cheese due to potential contamination with listeria monocytogenes, which causes the potentially life-threatening illness listeriosis.
A CDC report released Thursday now shows nine people have been sickened from the products and eight have been hospitalized.
There has also been one death, though no details about the affected individual have been released.
According to the latest CDC data, there have been three illnesses in New York, three in Maryland and three in Virginia.
Clover Hill Dairy on Thursday also expanded its initial recall to include all of its cheese products, which were sold from the company’s retail market, at farmers markets and through other unnamed distributors.
Recalled products were distributed in North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington DC.
A full list of recalled products can be found below.
Maryland-based Clover Hill Dairy is voluntarily recalling all of its cheese products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes
The CDC and FDA are working to identify other products that may also be linked to the recall.
‘Do not eat recalled cheese,’ CDC officials said in the agency’s recall warning. ‘If you have any of these recalled products in your home, throw them out or return them to the store.’
The FDA is urging customers who have purchased the products to return to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Customers should also thoroughly wash surfaces that have come into contact with the recalled products.
The FDA has classified the recall as Class I, which indicates ‘a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.’
While most of the 1,250 Americans infected with listeria each year recover on their own, the FDA warns that the infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
About 250 Americans die of the infection each year.
‘If you are pregnant, it can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in your newborn,’ the CDC warned.
Pictured above are two of the recalled soft cheeses, which were sold in ten-, 12- and 14-ounce individually packaged clamshell containers
Listeria can be found in moist environments, soil, water, decaying vegetation and animals, and can survive refrigeration and other food preservation measures.
Many foods can harbor the bug, but it is usually found in unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses and ready-to-eat foods, such as pre-packed sandwiches.
Cooked shellfish, cured meats and fish, including sushi and pre-cut fruit, are also a risk.
Symptoms include fever, headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Most people who eat food contaminated with listeria will not become seriously ill, but in some cases, it can cause confusion and seizures and even death.
Along with young kids and pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are especially at risk.
Severe infection and deaths can happen when the bacteria spreads beyond the gut and affects the central nervous system.
