Listeria

In the summer of 2008, some of the products that were produced by Maple Leaf Foods were positive for listeria bacteria. This resulted in the death of 21 people in Canada.

Listeria is a type of bacteria that is found in food. It can result in a serious disease called listeriosis.

Countless people can carry the listeria bacteria but few will develop listeriosis. The people that do become ill will feel like they have food poisoning.

Symptoms include:

• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Cramps
• Diarrhea
• Severe Headache
• Constipation
• Persistent fever

In severe cases a person can develop meningitis encephalitis, an infection of the brain and/or blood poisoning. These things can result in death.

The people with the highest risk of contracting the illness are:

• pregnant women
• the elderly
• people with weakened immune systems

Listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics, however early detection is important. There is no vaccine to prevent the illness.

I have personally experience with meningitis encephalitis. I know that it must have been a terrifying experience for the victims and their families. The food industry should have had more extreme measures when it came to the handling of the food we eat. The sad thing is that it took the deaths of innocent people for the government to realize this too.

References:

 Listeriosis. (2013). MediResource Inc. Retrieved from http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/