Maple Leaf meat products contaminated by listeria
Добавлено: 25 авг 2008, 18:40
уже и в википедии есть. 2008 Canadian listeriosis outbreak12 deaths linked to contaminated meat
6 deaths by listeriosis confirmed, 6 deaths being investigated
Meagan Fitzpatrick and Jorge Barrera , Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, August 25, 2008
OTTAWA - Twelve deaths in Canada have now been linked to listeriosis, according to federal health officials who said Monday the deaths are among 26 confirmed cases of an outbreak across the country stemming from contaminated meat.
Eleven deaths were in Ontario and one was in British Columbia, the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed at a news conference. In six of the Ontario deaths, the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is being called an underlying or contributing factor to the death while the other five are still under investigation to determine what role it played.
"The one in B.C. is still a little bit controversial but it's considered having contributed to the death," said Dr. Mark Raizenne, director-general of PHAC's centre for food-borne, environmental and zoonotic infectious diseases (Zoonotic diseases can be transmitted between or shared by animals and humans.)On top of the 26 confirmed cases, a further 29 cases of listeriosis have been identified and are being investigated to see whether they are linked to the current outbreak that is being blamed on meat from a Maple Leaf Foods processing plant in Toronto.
The plant will remain closed Tuesday and a massive Canada-wide product recall is ongoing that is expected to cost Maple Leaf more than $20 million and is prompting retailers across the country to empty their shelves of more than 200 Maple Leaf products, manufactured under a number of brand names.Health officials said Monday they have changed the way they count the number of people affected by the bacterium strain to include anybody who had it in their body at the time of death, whether it caused the death or not.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told the news conference in Ottawa that the investigation into the outbreak is continuing and will likely bring even higher numbers over the coming days.
"We fully expect that both the numbers of suspected cases and confirmed cases will increase as this investigation continues and samples continue to be tested," Ritz said.
"It is important that all retailers and distributors of Maple Leaf products use due diligence and remove affected products from their shelves and from their menus," he said. "I remind the public that if in doubt about any ready-to-eat meat it's best it throw it out."
