Large listeriosis outbreak linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk, Germany, 2006-2007.
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.
Koch
Judith
J
Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
Dworak
Regine
R
Prager
Rita
R
Becker
Biserka
B
Brockmann
Stefan
S
Wicke
Amal
A
Wichmann-Schauer
Heidi
H
Hof
Herbert
H
Werber
Dirk
D
Stark
Klaus
K
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