Five people died in hospitals in England after consuming sandwiches and salads contaminated with listeria bacteria, the Public Health Service of England (PHE) confirmed on Friday. Health authorities believe that all those affected who died in hospitals in that British region, ate these contaminated products, branded The Good Food Chain.
The first three deaths were known last week, while The Public Health Service in England has now discovered two other fatal cases linked to the same outbreak.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) believes the outbreak began on 25 April and has affected a total of nine people. Listeria infections are unusual and usually cause light discomfort in healthy people, but they can be a more serious health problem in pregnant women and patients with diseases that weaken the immune system.
Listeria infections are unusual and usually cause light discomfort. Photo Theme/ Pixabay
The Good Food Chain, for its part, stated in a statement that they expect the authorities to conduct the investigations, adding that the company is cooperating transparently with the Food Standards Agency. Similarly, he offered his condolences to the relatives of those who have passed away.” We hope that the authorities will conduct their investigations urgently, so that the industry as a whole can learn the necessary lessons as soon as possible (…) For our part, we are cooperating fully and transparently with the Food Standards Agency,” added the company, which expressed its “deepest condolences” to the families of the deceased. Listeriosis
It should be mentioned that listeria bacteria (listeria monocyogenes) develops intracellularly and is the cause of the disease called listeriosis, which can be very serious in pregnant women and people with affected immune systems. This infection is most often contracted by eating improperly processed cold cuts and unpasteurized dairy products. The bacteria can multiply at low temperatures, hence it is sometimes kept in contaminated food for days or weeks and it is complicated to determine the source of the infection once that occurs. Symptoms caused by this disease are fiebra, muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea. Although these may appear a few days after eating contaminated food, it may take up to 30 days or more before the first signs of infection appear. Some of the recommendations to avoid listeria bacteria infections are to keep the fridge below 4oC, clean it regularly and consume food as soon as possible so as not to give it too long to proliferate. Similarly, it is recommended that vegetables that are not consumed whole once splits, such as melon, be kept in refrigeration once opened.
Original source in Spanish
