Death toll rises to 9, dozens hospitalized in Boar’s Head-linked listeria outbreak, CDC says

Nine people have died and 57 have been hospitalized in a nationwide listeria outbreak linked to recalled Boar’s Head deli meat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, describing it as the largest such outbreak in the United States since 2011.

Six new deaths were reported in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, New York and South Carolina, the CDC said. Earlier this month, the agency confirmed three deaths from the outbreak in Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia.

Last month, a Boar’s Head liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of listeria, prompting the deli meat and cheese company to issue a recall of all items produced at a facility in Jarratt, Va., and pause operations there.

At least 7 million pounds of more than 70 products, including ham, bologna, bacon and frankfurters, are part of the recall, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Recalled items were produced between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names, the agency said. The recalled products were distributed nationwide and exported to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, it added.

The CDC urged the public to avoid consuming the recalled products and look out for the numbers “EST. 12612″ or “P-12612″ inside the USDA mark of inspection on Boar’s Head product labels.

“We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families,” Boar’s Head said in a statement in mid-August. “No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.” The family-run company was founded in 1905 in New York and describes itself as the “leading premium deli meat and cheese company” in the country.

The CDC said the outbreak is the largest since one in 2011 that was linked to cantaloupes, in which 147 people were infected and 33 died across 28 states, according to the agency’s archive. Recent listeria outbreaks in the United States have been tied to cheese and dairy products, packaged salads and enoki mushrooms.

People contract listeria by consuming food contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. With an estimated 1,600 infections and 260 deaths every year, listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, the CDC says.

Pregnant people, newborns, those older than 65 and people with weak immune systems are at highest risk of falling severely ill from listeria, according to the CDC. Symptoms of the illness can include fever, muscle aches, loss of balance, convulsions and intestinal problems. It can take up to 10 weeks for some people to have symptoms.

Some consumers are suing Boar’s Head after eating their products and falling seriously ill, the Associated Press reported. Among them are Sue Fleming, 88, who spent nine days in a hospital with a listeria infection, and Ashley Solberg, who said in her lawsuit that she “nearly lost her unborn child” when she contracted the illness, according to the AP.

CBS reported that inspections of the company’s Jarratt facility over the past year revealed the presence of mold, mildew and insects. Boar’s Head did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

A list of recalled products and photos of their labels can be found at the USDA site at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.