Consumers
10/1/2011
October 16-22, 2011 marks the 25th Anniversary of International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW). Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from 3M Health Care, IIPW brings attention to the importance of infection prevention and commemorates the important work of infection preventionists, dedicated experts who partner with your healthcare team, using proven methods to ensure that you stay safe from healthcare-associated infections during your visit. Access the “Infection Prevention and You” campaign material to learn more about infection preventionists and how to stay infection free while receiving care. [Campaign material is now available in Spanish, thanks to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Infectious Disease – International Outreach Division.]
Additionally, IIPW allows you the chance to play an active role in drawing attention to infection prevention and learning more about this important issue. Visit www.apic.org/iipw to see how you can get involved in live events and activities to help spread the IIPW motto– “infection prevention is everyone’s business.”
In the spirit of IIPW, APIC’s PreventInfection.org is providing you and your family with important information on Listeria, a foodborne infection which has caused twenty-three deaths in the U.S. since August 2011. Learn how to stay safe from this dangerous infection:
On September 14, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Jensen Farms in Colorado issued a voluntary recall of its Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes after being linked to a multistate outbreak of listeriosis. The outbreak started in late summer 2011.
As of October 18, 2011, a total of 123 persons infected with any of the four outbreak-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported to CDC from 26 states. Twenty-five deaths have been reported. Updated information may be found here.
What is listeriosis?
Listeriosis, a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, has recently been recognized as an important public health problem in the United States. Symptoms can show up 1-70 days after exposure to contaminated food and may include vomiting, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, headache, constipation or fever. Some infections become severe and develop into an infection of the brain or lining of the brain and blood poisoning. Some people experience only mild flu-like symptoms.
Who gets listeriosis?
While healthy adults and children occasionally get infected with Listeria, they rarely become seriously ill. The disease affects primarily older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. Each year in the U.S. about 2,500 persons become seriously ill with listeriosis, and of these 500 die. Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis and are at greatest risk in the third trimester. However, it is the newborn, rather than pregnant women, that suffer the serious effects of infection during pregnancy. Listeria infection during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, premature delivery or death to the newborn. Early treatment may prevent fetal infection and fetal death. Additionally, persons with AIDS are almost 300 times more likely to get ill from this infection than people with normal immune systems.
How do you get listeriosis?
When someone eats food contaminated with Listeria, they may become infected and then ill. Babies can be born with listeriosis if their mothers eat contaminated food during pregnancy. While healthy people may consume contaminated foods without becoming ill, those at increased risk may become ill after eating food contaminated with even a few bacteria.
How is listeriosis treated?
When infection occurs during pregnancy, antibiotics given promptly can often prevent infection of the fetus or newborn. A person in a high-risk category who experiences flu-like symptoms within two months of eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the physician or healthcare provider about eating the contaminated food.
- If a person has eaten food contaminated with Listeria and does not have any symptoms, most experts believe that no tests or treatment are needed, even for persons at high risk for listeriosis.
- Even with prompt treatment, some infections result in death, particularly in the elderly and in persons with other serious medical problems. Antibiotics used in the treatment of listeriosis include ampicillin, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, linezolid and azithromycin.
How does Listeria get into food?
This is the first time a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak has been reportedly linked to whole cantaloupe. Because of this unusual circumstance, FDA’s newly formed Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Network is working with FDA Districts, CDC, the States and other regulatory partners on a root cause analysis to determine where in the supply chain and what circumstances likely caused the implicated cantaloupe to be contaminated. FDA is exploring whether harvesting and/or postharvest practices may have contributed to this contamination, as well as what could be done differently to prevent future occurrences.
Listeria is a bacteria found in soil and water. Vegetables may become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertilizer. Animals can carry the bacteria without being ill and contaminate foods like meats and dairy products. Listeria has been found in a variety of raw foods, such as uncooked meats and vegetables, unpasteurized milk and milk products. Additionally, processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts at the deli counter may become contaminated after processing. Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in certain ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and deli meats, contamination may happen after cooking and before packaging. In the 2008 Canadian outbreak, the contamination occurred in a food processing plant and there were possibly 220 contaminated products, including deli meats. Since the bacteria traveled through deli meats that were cooked (and therefore usually free of pathogens), the contamination probably occurred during packaging. The recall, closure and cleaning of the plant, training of personnel and expert management cost the company at least $20 million.
Can listeriosis be prevented?
Consumers should not eat Rocky Ford cantaloupe shipped by Jensen Farms and should immediately discard the recalled cantaloupes in the trash in a sealed container so that children and animals, such as wildlife, cannot access them. Not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled with stickers to indicate production by Jensen Farms. If consumers are uncertain about the source of their cantaloupe, they should ask the grocery store or discard any cantaloupe of unknown origin. Consumers who are concerned about illness from Listeria monocytogenes should consult their healthcare professionals.
The risk of listeriosis can be reduced by following general guidelines for food safety. These include:
- Thoroughly cook raw food from animal sources, such as beef, pork or poultry.
- Wash raw vegetables thoroughly before eating.
- Keep uncooked meats separate from vegetables and from cooked foods and ready-to-eat foods.
- Avoid unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk.
- Wash hands, knives, and cutting boards after handling uncooked foods.
- Consume perishable and ready-to-eat foods as soon as possible.
Recommended for persons at higher risk, such as pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems, in addition to the recommendations listed above:
- Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats unless they are reheated until steaming hot.
- Avoid getting fluid from hot dog packages on other foods, utensils and food preparation. surfaces, and wash hands after handling hot dogs, luncheon meats and deli meats.
- Do not eat soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined cheeses or Mexican style cheeses such as queso blanco unless clearly labeled that they are made from pasteurized milk.
- Do not eat refrigerated pates or meat spreads.
- Do not eat refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is contained in a cooked dish, such as a casserole.
While listeriosis is a potentially serious infection, it is rare, preventable and treatable. Taking care with food preparation is the single greatest safety measure we can take to protect our families and ourselves.
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