(NewsNation) — Federal health officials announced Tuesday that a California cheese and dairy company is the source of a decadelong outbreak of listeria food poisoning.
The outbreak, first detected in June 2014, was linked to soft cheeses and other dairy products made by Rizo-Lopez Foods of Modesto, California.
Since 2014, at least 26 people in 11 states have been sickened. One person died in Texas in 2020, and another passed away in California in 2017. New illnesses were reported in December, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reopened their probe.
Rizo-Lopez Foods recalled more than 60 soft cheeses, yogurt and sour cream sold under the brands Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros, Rio Grande, Food City, El Huache, La Ordena, San Carlos, Campesino, Santa Maria, Dos Ranchitos, Casa Cardenas and 365 Whole Foods Market.
What is listeria?
Listeriosis, or listeria, according to the CDC, is a serious infection typically caused by eating food that contains the bacterium “Listeria monocytogenes.” An estimated 1,600 people get it a year, and about 260 die.
It’s an infection most likely to sicken pregnant women, newborns, those ages 65 or older and people who already have weakened immune system.
While listeria can cause an intestinal illness that is usually mild, the CDC only tracks those that are considered ‘invasive,” meaning they spread beyond the intestines.
For pregnant people, an invasive illness can pose a risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. Adults older than 65 or with compromised immune system can get an infection of the bloodstream or brain.
Laboratory tests can detect listeria in body tissue or fluid. The treatment depends on what kind of illness people have, and its severity. Most infections are treated with antibiotics, and those with diarrhea are urged to drink plenty of fluids.
Treatment depends on the kind and severity of a person’s illness. Most infections are treated with antibiotics.
What are the symptoms of listeria?
People should contact a healthcare provide if they ate food that has been recalled or linked to a listeria outbreak, and then get a fever or other symptoms. Those who eat food possibly contaminated and do not feel sick do not necessarily need tests or treatments, according to the CDC, but can talk with a health care provider if they have questions.
Pregnant people with listeria as an invasive illness might experience flu-like symptoms, such as muscle aches or fatigue, while people who aren’t pregnant might get a fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or seizures, as well.
Intestinal listeria illness are rarely diagnosed, as laboratories do not regularly test patient stool for it.
Symptoms of an intestinal illness include diarrhea, and vomiting.
Why did it take so long to find source of listeria outbreak?
Northeastern University food safety policy expert Darin Detwiler said in an article written by the university that advances in genetic testing, in particular whole genome sequencing, were what led the government to find the reason for the 10-year outbreak.
Even though the government knew about different outbreaks, they needed the sequencing to realize they were all part of the same family.
“These were previously considered to be separate incidents, but technology was able to connect them,” Detweiler said. “This gives the CDC a completely new perspective on some of these pathogens.”
In addition, not all of the people who ate the soft cheese being recalled the brands of food they ate, the CDC said.
Three people who got sick between 2014 and 2022 reported eating queso fresco or cotija from Don Francisco, one of the brands of recalled cheeses, the CDC says.
