Five Kansas adults have become ill with listeriosis after consuming ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria moncytogenes, health officials said.
According to the KDHE, three deaths have been reported. Patients became ill with listeriosis after hospitalizations for unrelated causes at the same hospital, according to the KDHE. The KDHE stated it has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in this case.
The illnesses were recorded between January 2014 and January 2015 after a majority of them consumed Blue Bell Creameries ice cream at the hospital, the spokesman said.
According to KDHE, the hospital was not aware of the listeriosis contamination. The outbreak was recently discovered after two patients were identified with the same strain of listeriosis, a spokesman said. Three other patients were found who had been hospitalized for unrelated causes before the onset of listeriosis, according to KDHE.
Today, the FDA warned consumers about the potential contamination in Blue Bell Creameries’ products. Kansas health officials are warning consumers who have purchased the following Blue Bell Creameries novelty items and have not consumed the items to discard them:
• Chocolate Chip Country Cookie
• Great Divide Bar
• Sour Pop Green Apple Bar
• Cotton Candy Bar
• Scoops
• Vanilla Stick Slices
• Almond Bar
• No Sugar Added Mooo Bar (regular Mooo Bars are not included)
Potentially contaminated items have been pulled from retail locations by Blue Bell Creameries and are no longer available for purchase. At this time, no other products from Blue Bell Creameries have been linked to this outbreak.
The disease primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms begin from three to 70 days after consuming the bacteria. In 2014, five cases of listeriosis were reported in Kansas.
Anyone who believes they may have become ill with listeriosis should contact their health care provider.
More information about listeriosis can be found on the CDC website www.cdc.gov/listeria. More information about this outbreak can be found on the FDA website http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm438104.htm.