Listeria outbreak: Health Secretary orders NHS food review

The health secretary ordered a "thorough review of hospital foods" after two more patient deaths were linked to an outbreak of listeria.

Public Health England (PHE) confirmed Friday that the total number of deaths related to sandwiches and pre-packaged salads has increased from three to five.

He said that all but one death had occurred more than a month ago.

The products of the good food chain – related to the epidemic – have been removed and production stopped.

"I am extremely concerned about this problem and I firmly believe that it takes a radical new approach to the food served in our NHS," said Health Secretary Matt Hanbad.

"Staff, patients and families deserve so much better – our NHS should be at the forefront of helping people make healthy choices.

"I asked the NHS to conduct a thorough review of the hospitals' food."

The latest PHE announcement brings the number of confirmed cases from six to nine.

According to the evidence, everyone who died would have eaten the products before the withdrawal on May 25.

Last week, PHE confirmed that two patients from the Manchester Royal Infirmary and one from Aintree Hospital had died.

The good food chain – which provided 43 NHS trusts in the UK – was supplied with meat produced by North Country Cooked Meats, which then tested positive for the epidemic strain of listeria.

PHE said they have been badyzing known cases of listeriosis in the last two months to determine if they were related.

"To date, no patient has been involved in this incident outside of health care organizations, but we are continuing our research," said Dr. Nick Phin of Public Health England.

"Quick steps have been taken to protect patients and any risk to the public is low."

He added: "PHE continues to badyze all recent and ongoing listeria samples from inpatients to understand if their disease is related to this outbreak."

A listeria infection can cause mild discomfort, but is more likely to seriously affect pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

In a statement, the good food chain said to cooperate "fully and seamlessly with the Food Standards Agency and other authorities" and said that she hoped the investigation would be continued in a manner " urgent so that the entire industry can learn lessons as soon as possible. " possible".

"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go to the families of those who have died and to whoever has been touched by this epidemic.

"The underlying cause of it remains uncertain," the statement added.

It is unclear where the last two victims were treated.

The NHS Foundation of the University of Manchester and the NHS Foundation Trust of Aintree University said the new cases did not concern them.

What is listeria?

Listeria is a bacterium that can cause a type of food poisoning called listeriosis.

Normally, the symptoms are mild – high temperature, chills, nausea – and disappear after a few days.

But in this epidemic, cases occurred in people who were already seriously ill hospitalized and who were at greatest risk of serious infection.

Listeriosis can damage organs, spread to the brain or blood, and be fatal.

In 2017, the numbers show that there were 33 deaths related to listeriosis in England and Wales.

Many types of food can be contaminated with listeria, such as soft cheeses, refrigerated ready-to-eat foods, such as pre-packaged salads, sandwiches and sliced ​​meats, as well as other products. based on unpasteurized milk.

For this reason, it is advisable for pregnant women to avoid soft cheese.

To reduce risk, the NHS recommends that people keep refrigerated foods in the refrigerator, warm them up until they are very hot, and not eat them after their expiration date.