Data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) reveal a disturbingly high rate of Listeria infections among pregnant women—nearly 13 times higher than the general population. From 2004 through 2009, more than one-third (385) of Listeria infections during pregnancy occurred among Hispanic women.
CDC Vital Signs: Protecting People From Deadly Listeria Poisoning
More on Listeria Listeria infections are rare but can lead to serious complications during pregnancy, including miscarriage or stillbirth, premature labor, and life-threatening illness in newborn infants. Pregnant women can protect their babies by learning what foods to avoid and how to safely prepare and store foods that have a higher risk of Listeria contamination. |
Most people diagnosed with Listeria infections require hospital care, and about 1 in 6 die. This dangerous bacterium has been found in processed meats (such as deli meats, hot dogs, and meat spreads), raw (unpasteurized) milk, soft cheeses, smoked seafood, and some kinds of fresh produce. In 2011, Listeria contamination of cantaloupes sickened 147 people in 28 states, and resulted in a reported 33 deaths and one miscarriage.
Graph: Incidence of Listeria Infections
Foodborne diseases have been known to disproportionately affect children and the elderly, but expectant mothers are at a particularly higher risk for Listeria infection because their immune systems are weaker during pregnancy. Additionally, fetuses and newborns are at increased risk for Listeria infections because Listeria can cross the placenta. Although pregnant women typically only experience mild flu-like symptoms from the foodborne illness, fetuses and newborns often have severe infections because their immune systems are not fully developed.
According to a CDC article published in June 2012 in the journal, Clinical Infectious Diseases, nearly one-in-three cases of Listeria infections in pregnant women resulted in fetal loss or neonatal death from 2004 to 2009. Among those newborns with infections, 44 percent were stricken by meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord that can result in hospitalization, neurological damage and death.
In addition, the new CDC information points out that Hispanic women are at an even higher risk, likely due to dietary habits. The research determines that although it is not possible to specifically identify the product that caused the infections, there is high consumption of foods connected to past Listeria outbreaks, such as “Mexican-style cheeses,” which are cited in 58 percent of cases involving Hispanic pregnant women versus 16 percent of non-Hispanic pregnant women.
A foodborne outbreak occurs when two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink. According to the CDC foodborne outbreak database, between 2004 and 2009, there were 15 U.S. foodborne outbreaks caused by Listeria, resulting in 98 illnesses, 73 hospitalizations and nine deaths.
The proportion of Listeria infections during pregnancy that ended in miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal deaths from 2004 through 2009. |
Over the course of the same six years, FoodNet, which conducts surveillance of a series of foodborne diseases including Listeria and represents just 15 percent of the U.S. population, identified 762 sporadic cases of infection (isolated illnesses that were not linked to an outbreak). Out of 760 cases with information available, more than 90 percent of the victims were hospitalized.
Sporadic cases and outbreaks are only the tip of the iceberg. CDC estimates that nearly 1,600 Listeria illnesses are contracted each year in the United States due to exposure to this bacterium in foods. The underdiagnosis is due in part to the fact that laboratory tests do not always detect the organism. Similarly, miscarriages or neonatal deaths caused by this infection may go undiagnosed.
According to CDC estimates, 19 percent of related deaths caused by foodborne illness could be attributed to Listeria, making it the third most deadly disease-causing bacteria, behind only Salmonella and Toxoplasma gondii.
Established in 1995, FoodNet is a collaborative program among CDC, 10 state health departments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FoodNet personnel located at state health departments regularly contact clinical laboratories to get reports of infections diagnosed in residents of these areas; by doing so, FoodNet is able to identify all Listeria cases (even cases that are not part of any recognized outbreak). This information is extremely important to better quantify the impact of foodborne illnesses in the United States, monitor trends over time, identify how and which foods are causing illnesses and disseminate information that can lead to improvements in public health practice and the development of interventions to reduce the burden of foodborne illness.
Foods linked to Listeria infections:
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In addition to FoodNet, CDC has a special surveillance program, called the Listeria Initiative, to aid in the investigation of Listeria outbreaks. Through this initiative, a standardized questionnaire is used to interview any Listeria patient reported to state public health departments.
By using a standardized questionnaire, interviewing patients as soon as they are diagnosed, and ensuring that all Listeria strains are tested to identify their DNA fingerprint, more outbreaks are detected. Data generated by outbreak investigations help identify the contaminated food source responsible for illnesses and can guide industry practices and government policy decisions.
Although Listeria-related infections decreased from 1989 through 2000, no similar improvement has been seen since. This lack of progress has occurred despite industry and government efforts to curb illnesses related to ready-to-eat meats (e.g., deli meats and other foods that do not require cooking). The lack of any reduction in Listeria-related infections since 2000 suggests that improved industry and regulatory strategies are needed.
Visit the CDC’s Listeria website and CDC’s Spanish Listeria website to learn more about the recent findings concerning Listeria.
Incidence of Listeria Infections
This graph was compiled using data provided by the CDC.
In January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law, signaling the first major update to our nation’s food safety oversight framework since the Great Depression. Despite widespread support for the legislation and its implementation, the Obama administration still has not issued all of the proposed rules under FSMA.
More infoThe Pew Charitable Trusts applauds Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for her efforts to strengthen food safety protections under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and provide grant funding to help school cafeterias across the nation upgrade their equipment to serve healthy, appealing meals to millions of school children. Funding for both programs was included in a larger bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
More info"Being a Minnesotan, Jeff Almer searched for a polite term to describe how he feels about a congressional push to roll back the new food safety laws his family fought for when his elderly mother died after eating salmonella-laced peanut butter in late 2008."
More infoThe Pew Charitable Trusts commends Representative Tom Latham (R-IA) for his leadership in securing approximately $27 million for food safety in the House appropriations bill funding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The new money would help the FDA protect millions of Americans from the dangers of foodborne illnesses and strengthen consumer confidence in the food supply.
More infoAs a pediatrician, my No. 1 concern is to keep children safe and healthy. Inside the walls of my office, I can provide services and counseling to help do just that, whether by giving an infant her first childhood vaccine, providing a mental health screening to an adolescent patient or counseling parents about how to keep their homes as safe as possible. Unfortunately, there are some threats to children's health that are beyond my control, including the food they consume.
More infoDuring a 15-year span beginning in the mid-1990s, infections in the United States from the pathogen vibrio have increased threefold, according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
More info"The Food and Drug Administration will not reduce food inspections because of budget cuts, despite warning earlier that it could be forced to eliminate thousands of inspections by Sept. 30."
More info"Twenty-two weeks. That’s how long it took federal health officials to determine the contaminated food source after the first person was infected in a 2011 outbreak of salmonella that swept across 34 states, sickened 136 people and led to one of the largest national recalls of ground turkey."
More infoAn examination of a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey illustrates that health authorities must be more aggressive in their efforts to detect and respond to foodborne illnesses, according to a new report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, titled “Too Slow: An Analysis of the 2011 Salmonella Ground Turkey Outbreak and Recommendations for Improving Detection and Response.” In all, the contaminated food sickened a reported 136 people in the United States, hospitalized 37 and killed one, according to government data.
More infoA multistate outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections linked to ground turkey in 2011 sickened 136 people, causing 37 hospitalizations and one death. The Pew Charitable Trusts' analysis of the outbreak found numerous inadequacies in the foodborne illness surveillance system that, if addressed, could help to prevent illnesses and, in some cases, deaths.
More info"Six years ago, Bend resident Chrissy Christoferson's ten-month-old son suffered a ten-day struggle with what first appeared to be a touch of the flu."
More info"Portlander Joe Day tearfully recalled the year his family spent Thanksgiving in a hospital cafeteria, as his sister, suffering from e coli, fought for her life several floors above."
More infoMy name is Jennifer Exley, and I reside in Centennial, Colorado. I am the daughter of Herbert Stevens, who was deeply impacted by listeria-contaminated cantaloupe in August 2011. As you well know, 147 people were sickened and 33 people died in that outbreak — the deadliest in 25 years. My father was one of the so-called lucky survivors. His health and quality of life was, and remains, seriously affected because of something he ate.
More info''Several hundred farmers, regulators and consumers from Alaska to North Dakota to California gathered in Portland on Wednesday to listen to federal plans to overhaul the food safety system."
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