Charlie Smith
A THIRD person has died in Spain’s biggest ever listeriosis outbreak.
The 74-year-old woman was confirmed dead at Sevilla’s Virgen del Rocio Hospital at 1:15pm today.
She was hospitalised on August 12 after ingesting the deadly listeria monocytogenes bacteria and was among three patients transferred to the ICU.
It comes after a 90-year-old woman died on August 20, while another female victim was forced into an abortion on August 12.
The second death was thought to be that of a 72-year-old man who had terminal pancreatic cancer, which the Ministry of Health is still investigating.
Added to those victims were a dog and a British man, confirmed yesterday, after the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Sevilla opened an investigation on Friday.
So far there are 196 known cases in Andalucia, while there are over 200 in total across the country.
Despite this latest fatality, the outbreak is thought to be slowly decreasing in severity with only three new cases reported today and one yesterday.
The Andalucian Minister of Health, Jesus Aguirre said yesterday that the Government expected ‘to have the outbreak under control in 10 or 15 days’.
The outbreak is now confirmed to have started at Sevilla-based firm Magrudis, whose ‘La Mecha’ brand meat products were found to be contaminated.
The Ministry of Health has published pictures of the food in question, warning the public not to consume the product, adding that if they have any unusual symptoms they should visit a doctor.
Listeriosis is a bacterial infection that can cause sepsis, meningitis and encephalitis and can be fatal.
Symptoms include a high temperature of 38°C or above, aches and pains, chills, feeling sick or vomiting and diarrhoea.
Listeria mainly affects unpasteurised milk, dairy products made from unpasteurised milk, soft cheeses like camembert and brie and chilled ready-to-eat foods, like pre-packed sandwiches, pate and deli meats.
