Sliced deli meats may be behind multistate Listeria outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are currently in the process of collecting different types of data to identify the food source of a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections.

As of July 19, 28 people from 12 states have been infected and hospitalized, and two have died. Many of them said they became ill after eating meats sliced at deli counters.

Samples were collected from May 29 to July 5 and state and local public health officials have interviewed those infected. Of the 18 that were able to be interviewed, 16 (89%) reported eating meats sliced at a deli. Turkey, liverwurst, and ham were the most common meats ingested.

The states where there are reported cases are: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. At least seven or eight infections have been reported in New York.

The CDC conducted an analysis comparing foods reported by people in this outbreak vs. foods reported by people who got sick with Listeria but were not part of the outbreak. The analysis showed that people in this outbreak were more likely to eat deli-sliced turkey and liverwurst.

The CDC, however, said it does not have enough information to declare deli-sliced meats as the reason for the outbreak.