A New Yorker has become the tenth person to die from contaminated cold cuts in one of the largest food poisoning outbreaks in decades.
A total of 59 people have fallen ill with listeria linked to Boar’s Head meat products that were produced in a dirty factory plagued by infection control problems.
The 59 people have been hospitalized in 19 states. Other deaths have been reported in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and South Carolina.
It is the largest outbreak linked to melon since 2011, with 57 people hospitalised and nearly 4,000 tonnes of meat recalled.
In total, eight people have died during the outbreak and 57 have been hospitalised, and nearly 4,000 tonnes of Boar’s Head cold cuts have been recalled.
The map above shows the states where illnesses related to the listeria outbreak in deli meat have been reported.
CDC continues to urge people to check inspection labels before consuming any Boar’s Head products, as some have sell-by dates as late as October 2024.
The recalled products have EST codes 12612 or P-12612 inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.
CDC recommends that people who purchased the affected products throw them away or contact stores to request refunds.
Customers are urged to clean their refrigerators, containers and surfaces that may have come into contact with cut meats.
The health agency previously recommended against eating cold cuts unless they were reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature high enough to kill bacteria.
Keeping meats cold does not eliminate listeria.
Earlier this month, a Boar’s Head deli in Virginia was found to have violated a long list of health regulations when inspectors found mold, insects and liquids dripping from the ceiling.
The company suspended operations at the facility in July.
Agriculture Department officials who inspected the company’s largest plant in Virginia found dozens of instances of “noncompliance” with federal regulations on safe production practices over the past year, including several in recent weeks.
Listeria can persist on surfaces for weeks, reaching cutting tools and countertops that are not thoroughly cleaned regularly.
Listeria, which kills about one in five people it infects, is particularly dangerous for the elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying health problems.
These people have weaker immune systems, which means they may be less able to fight off an infection.
Symptoms may begin a few days or 10 weeks after infection, and initially start as fever, chills, stomach cramps, and diarrhea.
Pictured above is Gunter “Garshon” Morgenstein, a father of three from Newport, Virginia, with his wife Peggy. He died after suffering a listeria infection from eating Boar’s Head cold cuts.
Sue Fleming, 88, and her husband Patrick, 76, are suing deli maker Boar’s Head and the store where they bought the meat after Fleming became “deadly ill” from listeria.
But as the infection progresses, patients may also experience seizures, loss of balance and confusion.
The bacteria can be fatal if it spreads to the blood and causes sepsis (where organs begin to stop working) or infects the nerves and lining of the brain causing encephalitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain).
Infections can be treated with antibiotics, which are given intravenously and can kill bacteria.
The CDC has said reports of illnesses related to the recall have begun to decline, but it can take up to 10 weeks for an infected person to show symptoms.
One victim of the outbreak was Günter “Garshon” Morgenstein, 88, a father of three and a Holocaust survivor.
Last month, days after eating a Boar’s Head sausage, he felt fatigued and began having trouble breathing and was rushed to hospital.
Doctors said he was infected with listeria and had developed meningitis as a result, which caused a fatal brain swelling.
Another woman and her husband, Sue Fleming, 88, and Patrick, 76, are suing Boar’s Head.
In June, Fleming ate a Boar’s Head liver sausage after buying it at her local grocery store. The Missourian newspaper said she became “deadly ill.”
But in the days that followed, she says, she developed nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps, before suffering tremors and aches throughout her body.
According to the lawsuit, she was rushed to the hospital, where tests confirmed a listeria infection. She spent nine days in intensive care and 11 in rehabilitation, but claims she still suffers from neurological symptoms and has not yet regained her full strength.
The couple is now suing Boar’s Head for more than $25,000 to cover medical and legal costs, and damages to their “enjoyment of life” and their marital relationship.