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© 2007, Lee Tarte Wallace
About listeria
Listeria is a bacteria found in soil and the environment. One species of listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, can cause serious bacterial infections called listeriosis. The first case of human listeriosis was detected in 1929.
When food-processing companies or restaurants ignore sanitation procedures, their customers may wind up eating food contaminated with listeria. People who become ill from eating food that was negligently prepared may have a legal case for the damages they incur.
How does listeria spread?
Listeria spreads through contaminated food. A few years ago, for example, an outbreak of listeriosis occurred when construction dust entered the air conditioning system at a meat packing plant. The dust contained listeria. The contaminated dust mixed with the water in the air conditioner unit, and then dripped from the air conditioner directly into uncovered vats of meat.
What are the symptoms of listeriosis?
Listeriosis usually begins with fever, muscle ache, and sometimes flu-like symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, and a persistent fever. For some people, these symptoms will be all they experience. For others, the disease progresses to far more serious symptoms, such as brain infections. According to CDC, “if infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur.”
The disease may not turn serious until 1 to 6 weeks after a person is first infected.
How common is listeriosis?
CDC estimates that each year 2500 Americans are infected with listeriosis each year. The disease is deadly: of the 2500 infected, 500 will die.
What foods might harbor listeria?
According to “The Bad Bug Book,” which is put out by the Food & Drug Administration, CDC, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service, and the National Institutes of Health, listeria is usually associated with “raw milk, supposedly pasteurized fluid milk, cheeses (particularly soft-ripened varieties), ice cream, raw vegetables, fermented raw-meat sausages, raw and cooked poultry, raw meats (all types), and raw and smoked fish.” Listeria can multiply in refrigerated and even frozen foods.
- CDC explains that the groups at highest risk are:
- Pregnant women and their fetuses (due to the risk of stillbirths or miscarriages)
- Newborns
- People with weakened immune systems
- People with cancer (particularly leukemia), diabetes, or kidney disease
- People with AIDS (CDC estimates they are 300 times more likely to get listeriosis)
- People taking gluticosteroids
- The elderly
The Bad Bug Book suggests that people taking antacids or cimetidine also may be at risk, and that even healthy people may be at risk, especially if the food item is very heavily contaminated with listeria.
Links to help you learn more about listeria
Listeria monocytogenes
(Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, United States Department of Agriculture)
The Bad Bug Book entry for listeria
(U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition)
CDC’s information page on listeria
En Español, CDC’s information page on listeria
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Victoria Australia’s Public Health Division, information on Listeria
MedLine Plus Health Information on listeria
The Virtual Museum of Bacteria
Who is at risk for listeriosis?
© 2007, Lee Tarte Wallace
The contents of this page: (a) should not be considered or relied upon as legal, financial or other professional advice in any manner whatsoever, and (b) may be considered advertising under some state’s Bar Rules. Unless otherwise stated, no article or text at this Internet site is, has been, or will be updated or revised for accuracy as statutory or case law changes following the date of first publication. Always consult with your lawyer and/or your other professional advisors before acting.
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