Global Courant
Three people have died and two others survived after serious listeria infections in Washington state, health officials said in a report published Friday.
All of the infected patients were over the age of 60 and each had compromised immune systems, the Washington Department of Health said in a statement Friday. They were all hospitalized, it said.
Four patients were treated in Pierce County, home to the state’s third-largest city, Tacoma, and one was treated in neighboring Thurston County, state health officials said.
Although genetic fingerprinting, known as genome sequencing, helped health professionals conclude that the infections most likely had the same origin, the department had yet to trace the outbreak to a common food source, the department said.
The bacteria can be found on food preparation surfaces, fresh, unpasteurized cheese, leafy greens and processed meats, as well as in raw milk.
While healthy people experience temporary fever, muscle aches, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes can be deadly for pregnant people, people over the age of 65, and those with compromised immune systems.
The bacteria is easily defeated by heating food to 165 degrees or higher.
Last July, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 22 hospitalizations and one death from a listeria outbreak in multiple states.
Cristian Santana contributed.
