Listeriosis case confirmed in B.C. Interior

A case tied to the Canada-wide outbreak of the food-borne illness listeriosis has been discovered in Cranbrook,  British Columbia health officials confirmed Monday.

The woman, who has an underlying health condition, contracted the disease while in hospital and prior to the Canada-wide recall of ready-to-eat deli meats produced at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto, according to Interior Health, an authority established by the B.C. government to ensure the delivery of publicly funded health services in the southern B.C. Interior. 

The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control confirmed the case was from the strain of bacteria found in the Maple Leaf products, IH said in its news release.

A second case of listeriosis diagnosed in a Cranbrook resident in May has not proved to be a match to the current-outbreak listeria strain,  the centre said.

IH said the majority of health-care facilities in its network had served the recalled products.

"We have now pulled all recalled product from our facilities and are working with care providers and physicians to ensure they are aware of the potential for listeriosis cases and can appropriately diagnose symptoms," Dr. Rob Parker, medical health officer with Interior Health, said in the release.

"Most people exposed to the bacteria will not get sick," Parker added. "Those most at risk for developing infection are seniors and the elderly, those with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and newborns." 

The outbreak, caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, has been linked to four deaths out of 21 confirmed cases of the disease in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Three deaths were in Ontario, and one was in B.C. A further 30 cases of listeriosis remain under investigation as possibly spawned by the outbreak, federal Health Minister Tony Clement said at a news conference in Ottawa on Sunday.