WASHINGTON — An outbreak of Listeria food poisoning from a Massachusetts dairy killed three elderly men, caused the stillbirth of a baby and the premature birth of a second baby, U.S. health officials reported on Thursday.
They said the outbreak, while rare, demonstrates how difficult it can be to even detect, let alone trace, food-borne illness. It also shows that local health officials must move swiftly even at the hint of an outbreak.
"Dairy A was a family owned and operated milk product pasteurizing, bottling, and processing facility located in central Massachusetts; the dairy had operated for nearly 50 years," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its weekly report on death and disease.
Source: Reuters