title: Large listeriosis outbreak linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk, Germany, 2006-2007.
abstract: A commercial cheese (acid curd) made from pasteurized milk caused a large listeriosis outbreak in Germany from October 2006 through February 2007. The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak strain was identified in humans and in cheese samples from a patient's home and from the production plant. During the outbreak period, 189 patients were affected, which was 97% above the mean case number for the respective time period of the years 2002 to 2005. Of patients with available detailed information on cheese consumption (n=47), 70% reported to have consumed the incriminated cheese product. Recent European food safety alerts due to Listeria-contaminated cheeses more often concerned products made from pasteurized or heat-treated milk than from raw milk. The findings should be considered in prevention guidelines addressing vulnerable populations.
authors.affiliation: Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Regine
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dworak
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prager
authors.forename: Biserka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brockmann
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wicke
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wichmann-Schauer
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hof
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Werber
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stark
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D005511:Food Handling; D005516:Food Microbiology; D059022:Food Safety; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology