The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week that at least 11 people have been sickened and 10 hospitalized in a multistate outbreak linked to Listeria going back several years, but officials have not yet zeroed in a specific food culprit.
Outbreak patients tend to be older, but no deaths have been recorded. Sick people range in age from 47 to 88 years, with a median age of 73, and 8 of the 11 are women. Samples from case-patients were collected from July 3, 2018, to January 31, 2023.
Michigan reported two cases, while the other affected states had one each. They are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington.
Listeriosis can cause a variety of symptoms, such as fever and diarrhea, similar to other foodborne pathogens. Symptoms usually start within 2 weeks after eating food contaminated with Listeria but may start as early as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after. It can be especially serious and even deadly in pregnant women, seniors, and those with weakened immune systems.
"Public health officials are interviewing people in this outbreak to find out what foods they ate before getting sick," the CDC said. "Investigators are collecting as much information as they can to solve this outbreak."