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Two other people died in England as part of a Listeria outbreak linked to the consumption of prepared sandwiches, bringing to five the total number of deaths.
Public Health England (PHE) whole genome sequencing analysis identified three other infections, bringing the total number of infections to nine. All cases had health problems or belonged to vulnerable groups in health facilities.
PHE has analyzed known cases of Listeria in the last two months to determine if they were related to the outbreak. The PHE figures show seven cases of Listeria in the week ending June 9, six the previous week and four the previous week. The previous three weeks have all reported two infections.
Dr. Nick Phin, of PHE, said there were not yet any incident-related patients who came from other health care organizations.
"Quick steps have been taken to protect patients and the risks to the public are low. PHE continues to analyze all recent and ongoing listeria samples from inpatients to understand if their disease is related to this outbreak. "
All cases were hospitalized patients in England. Affected sandwiches and salads were removed from hospitals when the link to Listeria infections was identified. The chicken is the allegedly contaminated ingredient.
It is believed that people consumed the affected products prior to the withdrawal of 43 NHS trusts on May 25, before being withdrawn. The presence of Listeria monocytogenes at 190 colony forming units per gram was detected in the pre-packaged sandwiches. According to a study published in 1996 by the International Journal of Food Microbiology, the infective dose was estimated at 10 to 100 million CFU in healthy people and only 0.1 to 10 million people. UFC in individuals at high risk of infection.
Suspected cross-contamination
The supplier, The Good Food Chain, voluntarily ceased production while investigations continued. The company had been supplied with meat produced by North Country Cooked Meats, which had positive results for the epidemic strain of Listeria. This company and the North Country Quality Foods, which they distribute, have also voluntarily stopped production.
The Good Food Chain has confirmed that its production site located in Stone, Staffordshire, was contaminated with an ingredient from a licensed meat supplier.
"The company has been operating in the food industry for nearly a quarter of a century and enjoys an excellent reputation for food safety and quality," according to a company statement. .
Its Stone facility is regularly audited and has recently renewed its Class A BRC accreditation and five-star accreditation from the Environmental Health Manager, as well as STS accreditation. The Good Food Chain regularly tests its supplies, finished products and laboratory environment in accordance with industry guidelines and best practices. "
"A useless tragedy"
Craig Smith, president of the Association of Hospital Caterers, said he was "deeply saddened" by the Listeria outbreak and described this intervention as "unnecessary tragedy".
"We believe that other suppliers who have purchased products from North Country Cooked Meats have also been affected and reminders are ongoing. We urge hospital caterers to identify in their menu all products containing ingredients from North Country quality cooked meats and food so that they can be isolated, removed and new investigations can be undertaken, "he said.
"We would like to reinforce the crucial importance of temperature control and invite all caterers to review their audit processes with immediate effect. We require the strictest supplier members and we expect them, without exception, to temporarily suspend the delivery of the products until they have been completely re-evaluated and identified as "not exposed" by the positive search test. of Listeria at North Country Cooked Meats.
"Our patients are among the most vulnerable people in society and we all need to make an extra effort to protect them. Failures in food safety systems are unacceptable and immediate action must be taken. "
The University Caterers Organization (TUCO) has confirmed that The Good Food Chain was a TUCO framework agreement provider for sandwiches and related products.
The company and its products have been suspended until further audits are conducted with the STS food safety auditors.
"Very few of our members have used this particular vendor and we are personally in touch with each of the people involved to find an appropriate alternative. Since the discovery of the localized outbreak, the procurement team is in contact with the suppliers of all relevant TUCO executives to ensure that all products related to one or the other Another supplier is immediately removed from the supply chain. "
Before taking stock of the case, Professor Jose Vazquez-Boland, president of the Institute of Infectious Diseases, Medicine of infection – Microbial Pathogenesis at the University of Edinburgh, has stated that prepackaged sandwiches had already been incriminated during outbreaks of listeriosis.
"In 2017, for example, an episode of this type in Yorkshire and the Humber also involved sandwiches provided to hospitals. There is clearly a warning here that microbiological controls for Listeria need to be intensified with pre-packaged sandwiches, "he said.
"It is clear that outbreaks of food-borne Listeria are caused by deficiencies in food safety measures and by microbiological control of food products along the production and distribution chain. However, these checks may fail or be insufficient and Listeria may go undetected. This is what probably happened in this case.
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