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29-08-2008, 12:39 AM
Sources: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, MayoClinic.com
TORONTO — Some key facts regarding Canada's ongoing listeriosis outbreak and the related recall of ready-to-eat meat products made by Maple Leaf Foods:
THE ILLNESS: Caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, often found in soil, vegetation, animal feed and feces; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, headache, constipation, persistent fever. If it spreads to the nervous system, signs and symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions.
THE DEFENCE: Keep cold foods cold; thoroughly cook or boil foods such as hot dogs and poultry until steaming hot; avoid raw, unpasteurized milk; wash raw vegetables and hands before, during and after handling food; throw out prepared meats that can't be conclusively ruled out as being part of the recall.
THE VULNERABLE: People with weak immune systems, the elderly, pregnant women. Although the infection may be mild in a pregnant woman, there could be a miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth or potentially fatal infection in the baby after birth.
THE VICTIMS: Six deaths, all of them in Ontario, have been directly linked to the outbreak, while the deaths of another nine people with listeriosis are under investigation to determine if the outbreak was to blame.
THE CASES: Some 29 cases have been conclusively linked to the outbreak, including the six confirmed deaths and the nine deaths under investigation. Twenty-two of the cases are in Ontario, with four in B.C., two in Quebec and one in Saskatchewan. An additional 30 cases remain under investigation - 16 in Ontario, 10 in Quebec and four in Alberta.
THE RECALL: Maple Leaf Foods and several other manufacturers who use Maple Leaf meats in their products have recalled more than 220 varieties of meat and prepared sandwiches, at an estimated cost of $20 million. A complete list is available at www.inspection.gc.ca (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/).
THE CONNECTION: The strain of Listeria responsible for the recall matches that responsible for the outbreak, but both federal officials and Maple Leaf executives say more tests are needed to determine whether tainted meat is to blame for the deaths.
THE REACTION: Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke for the first time Tuesday, six days after the first death was confirmed. On Friday, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said his province "blew the whistle" thanks to an early-warning system designed following the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak. Federal Health Minister Tony Clement spent Tuesday in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, but said he was "on the file."
Sources: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, MayoClinic.com
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jT-uhZxeGOdv5k0yQxZuIpDClcSg
TORONTO — Some key facts regarding Canada's ongoing listeriosis outbreak and the related recall of ready-to-eat meat products made by Maple Leaf Foods:
THE ILLNESS: Caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, often found in soil, vegetation, animal feed and feces; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, headache, constipation, persistent fever. If it spreads to the nervous system, signs and symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions.
THE DEFENCE: Keep cold foods cold; thoroughly cook or boil foods such as hot dogs and poultry until steaming hot; avoid raw, unpasteurized milk; wash raw vegetables and hands before, during and after handling food; throw out prepared meats that can't be conclusively ruled out as being part of the recall.
THE VULNERABLE: People with weak immune systems, the elderly, pregnant women. Although the infection may be mild in a pregnant woman, there could be a miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth or potentially fatal infection in the baby after birth.
THE VICTIMS: Six deaths, all of them in Ontario, have been directly linked to the outbreak, while the deaths of another nine people with listeriosis are under investigation to determine if the outbreak was to blame.
THE CASES: Some 29 cases have been conclusively linked to the outbreak, including the six confirmed deaths and the nine deaths under investigation. Twenty-two of the cases are in Ontario, with four in B.C., two in Quebec and one in Saskatchewan. An additional 30 cases remain under investigation - 16 in Ontario, 10 in Quebec and four in Alberta.
THE RECALL: Maple Leaf Foods and several other manufacturers who use Maple Leaf meats in their products have recalled more than 220 varieties of meat and prepared sandwiches, at an estimated cost of $20 million. A complete list is available at www.inspection.gc.ca (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/).
THE CONNECTION: The strain of Listeria responsible for the recall matches that responsible for the outbreak, but both federal officials and Maple Leaf executives say more tests are needed to determine whether tainted meat is to blame for the deaths.
THE REACTION: Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke for the first time Tuesday, six days after the first death was confirmed. On Friday, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said his province "blew the whistle" thanks to an early-warning system designed following the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak. Federal Health Minister Tony Clement spent Tuesday in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, but said he was "on the file."
Sources: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, MayoClinic.com
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jT-uhZxeGOdv5k0yQxZuIpDClcSg