15.nov.06
LA Times
Rong-Gong Lin II
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-disease15nov15,1,1708590.story?coll=la-headlines-california
Health officials were cited as saying Tuesday that 17 people in Los Angeles County have contracted the bacterial food-borne illness listeriosis, including two pregnant women who had stillbirths.
The number of cases — tracked between August and November — is nearly double the number reported during the same period last year, officials said.
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's director of public health, was cited as saying the increase in cases does not constitute an outbreak, however, because they were not linked to a common source.
Fielding said it was important to remind pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems — such as people with cancer, diabetes or AIDS — to avoid certain foods known to be at risk for contamination from the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes.
Those foods include the following:
Deli meat or hot dogs that have not been reheated until steaming hot;
Refrigerated pates or meat spreads;
Refrigerated smoked seafood, such as those labeled nova-style, lox, kippered, smoked or jerky, unless it is cooked, such as in a casserole;
Soft cheeses, such as feta, brie and Camembert; blue-veined cheeses; or Mexican-style cheeses such as queso blanco, queso fresco and Panela, unless labeled as being made from pasteurized milk.
In eight of the 17 cases, those infected reported eating at-risk foods. Four of the pregnant women who were sickened had eaten soft or Mexican-style cheeses.
Officials recommended keeping fluid from processed meats from contaminating other food or utensils.