What Is Listeria Outbreak?

An outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease in excess of what would normally be expected in a defined community, geographical area or season. An outbreak may occur in a restricted geographical area, or may even extend over several countries. The outbreak may last for few days, weeks or even several years. There have been many Listeria outbreaks reported in the world. In most of these outbreaks the vehicles has been dairy products, poultry, raw fruits or vegetables or processed food. The largest outbreak was seen in South Africa from 2017 to 2018 April, there were 999 cases with 191 deaths.

There have been many listeria outbreaks reported in the world. Let us see when and where these Listeria outbreaks happened and what the vehicle for the outbreak was.

• 2002 – Turkey Deli Meat

  Multistate listeria monocytogenes outbreak associated with turkey deli meat

  There were 54 cases with listeriosis, out of those 8 deaths and three fetal deaths reported in nine states.

• 2011 – Cantaloupe

  Multistate outbreak of listeria monocytogenes associated with cantaloupes grown in Jensen Farms in Granada, Colorado. 

  15 cases of listeriosis were reported in four states. No deaths.

• 2012- Ricotta Cheese

  Multistate outbreak of listeriosis associated with Frescolina Marte Brand Ricotta Salata Cheese

  22 cases with the infection and four deaths reported in 13 states and the District of Columbia of the outbreak.

• 2013 – Hispanic-style cheeses

  Listeria Outbreak was associated with a variety of Amigo, Mexicana and Santa Rosa De Lima cheeses.

  7 cases with the infection and one death in California.

• 2014 – Caramel Apples

  Listeria outbreak related to caramel apples at the apple-packing facility

  There were 35 cases with seven death reported in 12 states.

• 2015 – Bluebell

  This outbreak of listeria was linked to Blue Bell Ice Cream

  10 people in four states were infected and 3 people died.

• 2016 – CRF frozen foods

  The listeria outbreak was linked to CRF frozen foods

  9 people were infected with one death in four states.

• 2017 – Vulto Creamery

  This listeria outbreak was associated with soft raw milk cheese made by Vulto Creamery in New York. There were 8 cases and 2 death reported in four states.

• 2008 – Processed meat

  The outbreak of listeria was associated with processed meat from Maple Leaf Foods

  57 were infected and 22 died during the outbreak.

• 2012 – Cheese

  A cheese was identified as the vehicle for the listeria outbreak

  30 people were infected and 11 died.

• 2013-2014 – Rolled pork sausages

  Danish authorities identified rolled pork sausages from a meat producer near Copenhagen.

  There were 41 cases with 17 deaths among those listeria cases.

• 2015-2018 April – Frozen Corn

  Five European Union countries Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom had Listeria infection from frozen corn.

  There were 32 infected cases with six deaths.

• 2017-2018

  This was the largest Listeria outbreak in the world. Officials have identified a meat product known as “polony” from the Enterprise Food-Production facility in Polokwane in South Africa as the source of the outbreak.

  There have been 999 cases of listeriosis with 191 deaths.

An outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease in excess of what would normally be expected in a defined community, geographical area or season. An outbreak may occur in a restricted geographical area, or may even extend over several countries. The outbreak may last for few days, weeks or even several years. 

A single case of a communicable disease long absent from a population or caused by an agent (e.g. bacterium or virus) not previously recognized in that community or area, or the emergence of a previously unknown disease, may also constitute an outbreak.

Disease outbreaks are usually caused by an infection, which is transmitted through person-to-person contact, animal-to-person contact, or from the environment or other media.

Outbreaks may also occur following exposure to chemicals or to radioactive materials. Occasionally the cause of an outbreak is unknown, even after thorough investigation.

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Also Read:

• What is Listeriosis or Listeria, Know its Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention, Prognosis
• Can Listeria be Transmitted from Person to Person?
• How do you Know If you have Listeria?
• What are the First Signs of Listeria?
• Where to Look for Listeria and How to Avoid it?