CDC Joins Investigation into Deadly Listeria Outbreak

Truffles cheeses made by Wisconsin’s Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company are the likely source

Five people in four states, including one who died, being infected with the same strain of Listeria monocytogenes has the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worrying about potentially contaminated cheeses that were distributed nationwide.

According to the CDC, the ongoing investigation indicates that Les Frères, Petit Frère, and Petit Frère with Truffles cheeses made by Wisconsin’s Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company are the likely source of the deadly outbreak. On July 3 Illinois, Indiana and Ohio each have reported one case associated to the outbreak strain. Two cases were confirmed in Minnesota, including the death case. One illness in a pregnant woman resulted in a miscarriage.

The Listeria outbreak is the subject of a continuing and collaborative investigation is involving local and state health agencies along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Atlanta-based CDC. According to CDC the warning is especially important for pregnant women, older adults, and persons with weakened immune systems, who are at the highest risk for infection and serious outcomes.

Crave Brothers, based in Waterloo; WS distributed their cheese products through retail and food service outlets. The company also fulfilled customer orders by mail order. Consumers who purchased any of the recalled cheeses should not eat them and should throw away any remaining cheeses, according to CDC. It said the warning is especially important for pregnant women, older adults, and persons with weakened immune systems, who are at the highest risk for infection and serious outcomes.

Listeria is feared for its relatively high fatality rate, especially among those populations CDC is warning during the current outbreak. Listeria outbreaks involving ready-to-eat meats in Canada and cantaloupe in the U.S. ended with deaths of 30-40 percent of those infected.

In the current investigation, CDC says public health investigators are using DNA “fingerprints” of Listeria obtained through testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak.

Laboratory tests conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on samples of Les Frères and Petit Frère with Truffles cheeses made by Crave Brothers from two retail stores confirmed the presence of the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes. Further testing and confirmation of the results are pending.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-07-13/index.html