The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 15 people have been infected from a strain of listeria linked to salad packs produced by Dole Food. Canada is also reporting some illnesses in a new update to the case.
There are now three additional illnesses tied to the investigation, including one death in Michigan as a result of listeriosis, according to the CDC. The disease, usually caused by food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, often affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with a weakened immune system.
The case involving Dole was first disclosed earlier this month and in the wake of that news, Dole voluntarily recalled all salad mixes produced in the Springfield, Ohio processing facility tied to the illnesses. Though the CDC’s investigation began in September, the source of the illness wasn’t known until earlier this month when a lab result from a packaged salad was linked to the Ohio facility.
In addition to the cases in the U.S., the Public Health Agency of Canada says seven people in five provinces were infected with the same outbreak strain of listeria. Lab results have shown that the isolates found in the ill people in Canada were highly related genetically to the cases in the U.S.