Leafy Greens Listeria Outbreak Ends with 19 Sick
A leafy greens Listeria outbreak has ended with 19 people sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Eighteen people, ranging in age from less than 1 year old to 96 years old, were hospitalized.
The CDC identified the outbreak using its national database of DNA “fingerprints” of bacteria that have caused a foodborne illness. Matching fingerprints indicate patients got sick from the same food.
Illnesses were reported from July 3, 2018, to March 31, 2023 from 16 states. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), California (1), Colorado (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), North Carolina (2), Nebraska (1), New York (1), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (1), Washington (1), and Wisconsin (2).
During interviews with health officials, 14 patients said they ate leafy greens before they became ill.
Of 14 people who said they ate leafy greens, 13 said they ate iceberg lettuce and 10 said they ate romaine lettuce before they became ill. Comparing these illnesses to Listeria patients who are not part of an outbreak, the CDC found that the outbreak patients were eight times more likely to have eaten iceberg lettuce, five times more likely to eat romaine lettuce and four times more likely to eat packaged salads than sick people not in this outbreak. This suggests that leafy greens were a likely source of this outbreak, the CDC said.
Patients named several brands of leafy greens and shopped at a variety of stores. One patient ate the greens at the hospital where they worked, three people were served the greens at the long-term care facilities where they live.
Symptoms of a Listeria Infection
Symptoms of a Listeria infection, which include severe headache, high fever, stiff neck, other muscle stiffness, loss of balance, confusion, and convulsions, usually develop within 24 hours of exposure but can take as long as 70 days to develop. Among pregnant women, Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
Experienced Listeria Lawyers
If you developed a Listeria infection after eating contaminated food and would like to discuss your legal options, please contact our Listeria lawyers. Our Food Safety Team has more experience handling Listeria lawsuits than any other law firm in the country securing some of the largest Listeria settlements in U.S. history including a recent award of $6.4 million.
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