The Public Health Agency of Canada has reported 12 confirmed fatalities and 38 confirmed cases of illness caused by Listeriosis across Canada. A further 7 deaths and 21 cases of illness are being investigated.
The agency states that while healthy people who are exposed to listeria are rarely affected by the bacteria, certain people are at higher risk – the very young, the very old, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.
Listeriosis is a food borne illness caused by consuming food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.
Laboratory results sent by Health Canada to The Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have established a link between a subset of meat products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods from their plant in Toronto and the outbreak of listeriosis.
For more information and to view the list of products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods please visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s web site at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/2008listeriae.shtml
Other important links / resources:
www.phac.gc.ca (Public Health Agency of Canada)
www.mapleleaf.ca (Maple Leaf Foods)
That some hospitals in Ontario have an Occupational Health Clinic.
