Pregnant women among 22 listeriosis cases in Quebec
Source: CBC News
Posted: 09/10/08 12:04AM
Filed Under: Canada
Public health officials in Quebec say a pregnant woman in the province has lost her baby, possibly because of listeriosis.
Officials are still awaiting test results to confirm whether the woman who lost her baby was infected with the bacteria, said Dr. Horatio Arruda, Quebec's director of public health protection.
"That person had a blood infection, and the symptoms she had looks like listeriosis," Arruda said.
New lab results bring the number of confirmed cases of listeriosis in Quebec to 22, up from Monday's 15. There has been one death in the province that has been definitively linked to the illness.
The Ministry of Health also reported that seven pregnant women in the province have contracted the infection. As a result, six babies were born prematurely and three of the newborns are now fighting the infection.
It's not clear if any or all of these cases are related to the consumption of cheese products.
Arruda is recommending pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems, stay away from soft cheese altogether.
"That makes us emphasize why we did this big operation trying to [get rid of] possibly contaminated cheese, because we don't want [this type of thing] to continue," Arruda said.
Earlier Tuesday, officials again warned Quebecers to throw out any cheeses on the list of possibly tainted products.
Anyone who bought cheese before Sunday at one of more than 300 stores is being told to throw it out.
Those stores sold 11 brands of cheese that have been found to be contaminated with Listeria, however, officials fear other cheese sold there may have been cross-contaminated.
Officials say they expect the number of listeria cases to grow, as the incubation period for the bacteria can be as long as 70 days.
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