3 Dead in Listeria Outbreak in Washington State

Washington state health officials said Friday that three people had died and two had been hospitalized in the Puget Sound area after contracting foodborne listeria infections in what appeared to be an outbreak.

Testing indicated that all five patients, three men and two women, fell ill between Feb. 27 and June 30 and likely had the same source of infection, officials said, though an investigation had yet to identify a common food source.

Each infected person was in their 60s or 70s and had a compromised immune system, officials said.

Four of the cases were in Pierce County and one in Thurston County.

The Washington State Department of Health said it worked with “local health jurisdictions to collect information from interviews with patients and their families to help identify common exposures.”

While it was still unclear where the cases originated, officials said the bacteria were commonly found in unheated cheeses and processed meats, unpasteurized dairy products and ready-to-eat deli salads, such as potato or tuna salads.

Officials added that the microorganism would die at temperatures above 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Last year, a listeria outbreak in several states was linked to contaminated processed meats and cheeses. Other recent outbreaks have been caused by store-bought infected ice cream And leafy vegetables.

The disease listeriosis, caused by the bacteria listeria, poses the greatest threat to older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women.

Listeriosis usually manifests itself within two weeks of consuming contaminated food and can cause flu-like symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In pregnant people, severe cases can lead to miscarriage and other complications.

Washington state records 10 to 25 cases of the infection each year, according to the The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

The situation has been recorded from 2009 to 2021, the last year for which data is available 18 listeria outbreaks that resulted in 238 hospitalizations and 47 deaths, according to the CDC