Woman with listeriosis dies in N.B.

The New Brunswick Health Department has confirmed a woman with listeriosis has died in the province.

A woman in her early 80s, who was a nursing home resident and who had listeriosis, died in a New Brunswick hospital, officials said.

Dr. Eilish Cleary, New Brunswick's acting chief medical officer of health, said the woman died recently after she became ill in the nursing home where she lived.

It is the first case to be confirmed in the province since Maple Leaf Foods issued a recall of virtually all the products produced at a Toronto plant after a deadly listeria outbreak. Officials have identified 13 deaths directly linked to listeria found in meat from the Maple Leaf plant.

The New Brunswick case is currently being labelled as a suspect case and officials have not confirmed whether the death is linked to the Maple Leaf recall.

Specimens are being sent to the Public Health Agency of Canada's national microbiology lab in Winnipeg to determine if the strain of listeria is associated with the national outbreak.

It will take seven to 10 days before it is confirmed if the woman died of listeriosis or another health complication and whether the strain matches the one involved in the national outbreak, Cleary said.

New Brunswick has two to three cases of listeriosis annually, Cleary said.

Listeria monocytogenes can be found in unpasteurized dairy products, raw vegetables and meats, and processed foods including deli meats and hot dogs. Ingesting the bacteria can cause serious illness including brain and blood infections that can lead to death.

Those who are most vulnerable are the elderly, infants and people with compromised immune systems.

Some of the flu-like symptoms of listeriosis are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe headaches, stiff neck and fever. It can take up to 70 days for symptoms to appear after the contaminated food is consumed.

Hospitals, long-term care facilities and schools have been notified of the recall, Cleary said, and checks have been conducted to ensure that recalled products have been removed from those facilities.

"I would like to remind the public to be vigilant about products on the recall list and to go through their fridges and freezers to remove and throw out any of these food items," Cleary said.