A listeria outbreak across the nation has killed one person and sickened seven others, including three babies. The outbreak has been traced back to cheese made in Delaware, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
The cases of listeria were confirmed last year between Aug. 1 and Nov. 27. One person died in California and the others were sickened in Maryland. Five of the cases were pregnancy related, and all of the people sickened were hospitalized except for one.
The cheese linked to the listeria was traced back to the company Roos Foods of Kenton, Delaware, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The cheese, a semi-soft, Latino-style cheese called Caujada en Terron, was sold in a grocery store chain in Maryland, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The name of the grocery chain was not released.
Roos Food also sells cheese under the names Santa Rosa de Lima, Suyapa, Mexicana, Amigo, La Purisima Crema Nica and La Chapina, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has issued a warning against buying Roos Food products.
Listeria, caused by the bacterium listeria monocytogenes, can infect a person through contaminated food, the Los Angeles Times reported. Once consumed the bacteria spreads, causing muscle aches, fever and diarrhea. The disease is especially harmful for babies, pregnant women and senior citizens.
A more widespread listeria outbreak in 2011 killed 33 people and sickened more than 125. The outbreak was traced back to cantaloupe grown on a Colorado farm operated by two brothers.
The cantaloupe most likely became contaminated by surrounding dirty water and old machinery in the farm's packing facilities.
The brothers, Eric and Ryan Jensen, were sentenced earlier this year to five years probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay $150,000 in compensation.
