A fourth person was reported dead on Friday of listeriosis as Canadian officials continued to investigate whether they were infected with a specific strain of the bacteria that might be linked to tainted meat products.
Investigators with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said they could know as early as yesterday whether there is a link between the outbreak and the recall of some 23 varieties of ready-to-eat Maple Leaf Foods meat products manufactured in Toronto.
On Tuesday, CFIA issued a national recall of Maple Leaf sliced corned beef, roast beef, pepperoni, salami, sausages, smoked ham, and turkey believed to be contaminated with the bacteria
Three of the deaths were in Ontario, the fourth was in the province of British Columbia.
They were among 17 confirmed cases of listeriosis across Canada and medical officers of health were warning that more cases were likely, given that listeriosis has an average incubation period of three weeks.
Listeriosis is a kind of food poisoning that can be dangerous to the elderly, newborns, pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions. Symptoms include fever, headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Of the 17 confirmed cases, 13 were in Ontario, two in British Columbia, one in Saskatchewan and one in Quebec.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority announced late on Friday that a 64-year-old man who died late last month tested positive for Listeria, although he also had a serious heart conditions.
“Because he was sick and because he had other conditions, it absolutely played a role,” said Shannon Marshall, a spokeswoman for the health authority. “He was sick, he had Listeria and that was a factor in his death.”
Health officials were studying whether there is any connection between the 17 cases and the recall of nearly two dozen types of processed meats manufactured at a Maple Leaf Foods plant.
While the cause of the contamination at the Toronto plant has yet to be determined, the plant was undergoing three separate sanitization’s, all under the watch of a microbiologist and a sanitation expert.
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