US meat and cheese triggered the deadly epidemic of listeriosis

 The fatal outbreak of listeriosis in six US states is caused by cold cuts and cheese. This was reported by representatives of the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Listeriosis is especially dangerous for pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems. Doctors urge people not to buy and eat cold cuts and cheese in grocery stores. A total of 16 people were infected in New York, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, California, and New Jersey. There were 13 hospitalized people. One patient died in Maryland. Another pregnant woman lost her child. The age of the patients varies from 38 to 92 years, more than half are men.

Interestingly, most of the people who catch the infection are from Eastern Europe or speak Russian. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating why the epidemic appears to disproportionately affect this part of the population.

It is possible that many infected people could recover without medical care, so it is unlikely that these cases will be included in official statistics. “The true number of sick people in this epidemic is probably higher than stated. The extent of the disease may not be limited to conditions with known patients, ”added the center.

The culprit of the infection is Listeria monocytogenes, an immune bacteria that survives cooking with ease. They are usually borne by food or water, as well as unpasteurized milk. Listeria is very difficult to combat. The source of infection can be shop counters and food processing plants, because bacteria live on their surfaces for quite a long time.

Symptoms of listeriosis appear within four weeks of infection but may not appear until 70 days. In some cases, the first symptoms of infection are diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms, along with headache, fever, muscle pain, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures. This infection is the third leading cause of death from food poisoning in the United States, reports CNN.

In July 2022, 23 people with Listeria infection were hospitalized in Florida. One pregnant woman also lost a child.