Three people have now died an outbreak of listeria food poisoning connected to Boar’s Head deli meatsfederal food safety officials announced Thursday, bringing the total number of sick people to 43.
The additional death occurred in Virginia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release Thursday. The other two deaths were in New Jersey and Illinois. The CDC also said nine more cases were reported since the July 31 release of the outbreak, which started in late May.
Boar’s head recalled £7 million of deli meats on July 30 and expanded an initial recall on July 25 after a liverwurst sample collected by Maryland health officials tested positive for listeria. The CDC said Thursday that a health official in New York tested a liverwurst sample and confirmed the same strain of listeria.
The recall covers more than 70 products – including liverwurst, ham, beef salami and bologna – manufactured at the company’s plant in Jarratt, Virginia.
Boar’s Head is already facing two lawsuits over the outbreak, one in a Missouri court and the other a class action in federal court in New York.
The meat was distributed to stores across the country, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama. Consumers should not eat the recalled meat and should discard it or return it to the store for a refund. Listeria bacteria can survive and grow in the refrigerator, so officials say people who had recalled products should thoroughly clean and disinfect the refrigerator to prevent contamination.
The CDC estimates that 1,600 people a year get it listeria food poisoning and about 260 of those people die.
The most common symptoms are fever, muscle aches and fatigue, although infections can also cause confusion and seizures. Infections are most dangerous for people over 65, people with weak immune systems and pregnant women. Symptoms may not appear for weeks after eating contaminated food.
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