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Listeria outbreak may be linked with soft cheeses
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A nationwide voluntary recall of soft cheeses has been issued by Karoun Dairies, as the CDC and FDA investigate whether a 5-year, multistate Listeria outbreak, resulting in one death and one miscarriage, stems from the company’s products, according to a news release.
A cluster of Listeria specimens was reported last month to the CDC’s PulseNet, a national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories that monitors possible outbreaks. Investigators revealed through pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and whole-genome sequencing that the cluster was closely related genetically to four other strains of L. monocytogenes that were identified on Aug. 8, 2010.
Overall, 24 patients were infected with one of the five related strains, and 22 were hospitalized, according the FDA. One miscarriage was reported out of five pregnancy-related cases, and one patient died in Ohio. California reported the greatest number of cases (n = 14), while New York and Massachusetts each cited two cases, and Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Washington and Ohio each reported one case.
Nineteen out of 23 infected patients who were interviewed said they consumed soft cheeses within 1 month of becoming ill, and four out of seven patients who specified the brand of cheese said they consumed products distributed by Karoun.
Two environmental samples that were collected this month from one of Karoun’s manufacturing companies, Central Valley Cheese Inc., in Turlock, Calif., showed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, which is highly related to the other outbreak strains, according to the FDA. In addition, five environmental samples that were collected from the same facility in 2010 also were highly related to the five strains.
Karoun has recalled the following brands due to possible contamination: Karoun, Arz, Gopi, Queso Del Valle, Central Valley Creamery and Yanni. All of the products are vacuum packed, in jars or in pails and weigh from 5 oz. to 30 lbs.
The FDA recommends that consumers who develop fever or muscle aches, sometimes after diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues, or experience fever and chills after eating these products should seek medical care and alert the health care provider about possibly consuming contaminated cheese. People most at risk for serious complications from Listeriosis are elderly, immunocompromised or have certain chronic medical conditions. In pregnant women, Listeriosis can lead to miscarriages, stillbirths, premature labor and serious illness or death in newborns.
*This story was last updated on Sept. 23, 2015.