Listeria News: A Listeria outbreak has been associated with eating Rocky Ford cantaloupe grown in Colorado. People have been sickened in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska. Four people have died and several others were hospitalized. Read more about the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak.
Attorney Fred Pritzker recently settled a listeriosis lawsuit for $6,425,000. He represents Listeria victims throughout the nation and has been interviewed and quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Lawyers USA and others. He is a sought-after speaker on food safety and food litigation issues. To contact attorney Fred Pritzker, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation.
Page content:
- What is Listeria monocytogenes?
- What is Listeriosis?
- How Does Listeria Get into Food?
- What are Listeria Symptoms?
- Further Listeria Information
What is Listeria Monocytogenes
Listeria monocytogenes is a is the name of a genus of a rod-shaped bacteria found in animal and human feces, on vegetation and in some livestock feed, as well as in some soil and water. As parasites, Listeria bacteria can live in animals and human beings.
One type of Listeria bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), can cause an illness called listeriosis. L. monocytogenes bacteria have been found in at least 37 species of mammal, 17 bird species and some types of fish and shellfish. A hardy bacterium, it is remarkably resistant to freezing, drying, and, to some extent, heating.
What is Listeriosis?
Listeriosis is the infection caused by consuming food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The disease affects primarily persons of advanced age, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems. However, persons without these risk factors can also rarely be affected.
Complications of listeriosis include the following:
- Listeria Meningitis
- Listeria Septicemia
- Pneumonia
- Hydrocephalus
- Encephalitis
- Seizures
- Blindness
- Brain Stem Damage
- Cranial Nerve Palsies
- Cervical Cord Compression
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
How Does Listeria Get into Food?
Because animals may carry it in their intestines without becoming sick, Listeria sometimes spreads to meat and dairy products. Although Listeria bacteria are killed through cooking and other heating methods used to produce ready-to-eat foods such as pasteurization, some ready-to-eat foods become contaminated after processing. This kind of contamination can take place in the processing plant or on the road from the processor to your plate.
Listeria outbreaks are most commonly associated with ready-to-eat meat foods, including hot dogs, luncheon meats, cold cuts, fermented or dry sausage, and other deli-style meat and poultry. Soft cheeses are another common source of Listeria outbreaks.
Listeria Symptoms and Death
Initial symptoms of listeriosis are usually flu-like. Because most people are resistant to the illness and contamination is relatively rare, listeriosis is uncommon. However, certain populations are much more susceptible to infection, and of the 1,000 to 2,500 people who are infected each year in the U.S, 25 percent die as a result of the infection.
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