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Hospital listeriosis outbreak linked to diced celery
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An outbreak of listeriosis that killed five people across five hospitals in Texas was traced back to contaminated diced celery in chicken salad.
In February 2010, the Texas State Department of Health Services identified a cluster of four cases of listeriosis. Within the next 6 months, there were six more cases identified that were part of that cluster. Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, they found that the 10 cases had similar patterns. The researchers reviewed medical records, evaluated hospital food sources and conducted interviews to identify the source of the outbreak. They also collected food and environmental specimens at a hospital where six patients were admitted before they acquired listeriosis.
All of the patients were immunocompromised and had either been admitted to an acute care hospital or visited one. At the hospital that had six patients, Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from diced celery in chicken salad. It was also identified in 19 swabs from multiple surfaces and in diced celery products from the processing plants. The facility was closed and the products were recalled.
“Foodborne illnesses are usually self-limited in healthy individuals,” the researchers wrote. “However, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella species, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and other pathogens can cause serious outcomes, including death, among immunocompromised persons, especially those who are hospitalized. This outbreak highlights the particular vulnerability of hospitalized and immunocompromised patients to invasive L. monocytogenes infections.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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