Floridian dies from listeria outbreak related to sliced deli meats; two more sick

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. (Illustration by James Archer/CDC)

One person in Florida died this month after eating Boar’s Head sliced deli meat contaminated with listeria, bringing the number of deaths related to the recalled products to eight.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in its latest food safety alert on Wednesday that 57 people have gotten sick and been hospitalized from the foodborne bacterial illness, which is the largest outbreak in 13 years.

Since the outbreak started in July, people have died in Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, and most recently in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, and South Carolina.

The Florida Department of Health has reported three cases of listeria in Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. The state and counties’ departments of health had not provided any details about the cases at the time of publication. The CDC didn’t immediately respond to Florida Phoenix’s request for additional information about the death.

People should throw away any Boar’s Head products marked with “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. Some of the products have sell-by dates into October, according to the CDC.

Symptoms of listeriosis include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, fever, and muscle aches. People may feel those symptoms the same day they ate contaminated food or up to 10 weeks later.