The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued their final report on the deadly outbreak “traced to soft, raw milk cheese from Vulto Creamery of Walton, NY,” officially ending the outbreak. In total, eight people were confirmed with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes, and all of them required hospitalization.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued their final report on the deadly outbreak “traced to soft, raw milk cheese from Vulto Creamery of Walton, NY,” officially ending the outbreak. In total, eight people were confirmed with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes, and all of them required hospitalization. Of the eight infected, one was a newborn baby, and two victims actually died as a result of the infection. According to Food Safety News, “the most recent victim became ill on March 13,” just days after Vulto Creamery issued their nationwide recall.
For those who haven’t been following this particular situation, the popular cheese company issued a national recall on many of its cheeses due to a Listeria outbreak that claimed two lives. What cheeses were included in the recall? Well, eight kinds of cheese in total were recalled, including:
- Heinennellie
- Miranda
- Willowemoc
- Ouleout
- Andes
- Blue Blais
- Hamden
- Walton Umber
The company’s recall was nationwide because their raw milk cheeses were distributed across the country, primarily to “retail locations in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic States, California, Chicago, Portland, OR, and Washington D.C.” While the cheeses were recalled because of potential contamination, testing results from the FDA and the “New York Department of Agriculture and Markets identified contamination in the Ouleout product.” According to the CDC, the particular strain of listeria found in the Ouleout cheese product “matched the strain isolated from six ill people, including two who died, as well as a listeria strain confirmed in an open package of Vulto cheese from a victim’s home.”
The big problem that some see with this final report is that “infected people may not develop symptoms until weeks from now.” According to the CDC, “it can take up to 70 days for symptoms of Listeria infection to develop.” So anyone who ate the contaminated cheese before the recall was issued in early March might not fall ill until July.
Despite this, though, some officials say the regular updates have to end at some point. Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney representing the families of the two outbreak victims who died, said that “it is not unusual for the CDC to issue a final report on an outbreak before all confirmed cases are counted.” He added, “they have to draw a line and stop doing updates. But for the victims and their families, it’s never really over.”
Sources:
Cheese outbreak ‘over’ despite possibility of more illnesses
Vulto Creamery Expands National Cheese Recall Due To Listeria Concerns
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