Five dead from listeria linked to caramel apples

[Ross]

Five dead from listeria linked to caramel apples

By Lenny Bernstein December 19 at 5:05 PM

Five people have died and 21 more hospitalized after they were infected with listeria linked to prepackaged caramel apples, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

In all, 28 people in 10 states were infected in October and November by the bacterium, which causes listeriosis, a life-threatening illness. The CDC is urging consumers not to eat "commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples" while it investigates the outbreak. No illnesses have been linked to uncoated apples or caramel candy, or to caramel apples that are not prepackaged, the agency said.

Listeria is ubiquitous in the environment and can live in food processing plants, even in cold temperatures, such as those in refrigerators. It is killed by cooking and pasteurization. It is also found in soil and water and in animals such as poultry and cattle, and can be present in raw milk or foods made from raw milk.

Persons infected with Listeria, as of Dec. 18. (CDC)

Minnesota health officials have determined that two people died and two others were sickened after eating contaminated prepackaged caramel apples, according to the Associated Press. The four were between 59 and 90 years old.

The CDC said nine of the illnesses across the nation occurred in pregnant women or newborns. The disease particularly affects  older adults, pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune systems. Three people have come down with meningitis.

The other states where infections have been found are: Arizona (4), California (1), Missouri (5), New Mexico (5), North Carolina (1), Texas (4), Utah (1), Washington (1) and Wisconsin (2).

Listeria outbreaks are rare but dangerous. In 2011, listeria in cantaloupes killed 33 people and sickened 147 in 28 states, according to the CDC. In 2012, 22 people were infected and four died in an outbreak attributed to a brand of ricotta cheese imported from Italy, the agency said.

Brendan Jackson, a medical officer for the CDC, said that several states began noticing listeria cases early in November and that the agency launched an investigation of the outbreak, which was attributed to bacteria with two different genetic fingerprints. Caramel apples are not on the list of foods that investigators typically consider when searching for listeria, and the virus has a long incubation period, both of which prolonged the effort, Jackson said. Listeria can take as long as 70 days to incubate and sicken someone, especially a healthy person.

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