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September 18, 2008 PUBLIC HEALTH UPDATE #4: LISTERIOSISThe Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health advises that public health officials are investigating a death related to a lab-confirmed case of listeriosis in Manitoba.
The individual, an infant with a suspected underlying medical condition, resided within the Burntwood health region.
Further lab testing and public health investigation are underway to determine if this case is linked to the current national outbreak.
This is the fourth case of listeriosis reported in Manitoba in 2008. Two cases reported earlier this year, one in January and one in February, were not linked to the current national outbreak. One case reported in August was linked to the current national outbreak. On average, four cases of listeriosis are reported in Manitoba each year.
The bacteria Listeria monocytogenes may not cause any symptoms in healthy individuals. An infection from listeria bacteria in food can cause fever, headaches, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and diarrhea.
Listeriosis, a more severe illness, is caused by infection in the blood or spinal fluid. Listeriosis is associated with more severe symptoms such as high fever, stiff neck and significant weakness and may result in death.
Those at highest risk for severe illness are the elderly and people of all ages with weakened immune systems. Pregnant women who become infected are at higher risk for a miscarriage, stillbirth or infected newborn.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Maple Leaf Foods had expanded previous public warnings to include all products produced at Establishment 97B, the affected Toronto facility, before Aug. 20, 2008. The code 97B appears beside the best before or packaged on dates on the original packaging from the Maple Leaf plant. Approximately 200 products were included in this recall, most of which are retail products. These products were distributed nationally including to locations in Manitoba.
Manitobans are reminded not to eat ready-to-eat meat products unless they can ensure the product is not on the Maple Leaf recall list.
For a complete list of these products, people can call the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1‑800‑442-2342 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday or can visit www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/list97be.shtml.
To reduce the overall risk of food-borne illnesses at any time, Manitobans are advised to:
· cook leftover foods until steaming hot before eating;
· avoid unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk;
· wash raw vegetables thoroughly before eating;
· wash hands, knives and cutting boards after handling uncooked foods; and
· consume perishable and ready-to-eat foods as soon as possible.
For more information about listeriosis, Manitobans can visit the website at www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/cmoh/listeriosis/index.html or contact Health Links–Info Santé at 788-8200 or 1‑888‑315-9257 (toll-free).
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