Large listeriosis outbreak linked to cheese made from pasteurized milk, Germany, 2006-2007

A commercial cheese (acid curd) made from pasteurized milk caused a large listeriosis outbreak in Germany from October 2006 through February 2007. The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak strain was identified in humans and in cheese samples from a patient's home and from the production plant. Durin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFoodborne pathogens and disease Vol. 7; no. 12; p. 1581
Main Authors Koch, Judith, Dworak, Regine, Prager, Rita, Becker, Biserka, Brockmann, Stefan, Wicke, Amal, Wichmann-Schauer, Heidi, Hof, Herbert, Werber, Dirk, Stark, Klaus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.12.2010
Subjects
Aged
Animals
Cheese - microbiology
Disease Outbreaks
Female
Food Contamination
Food Handling
Food Microbiology
Food Safety
Germany - epidemiology
Humans
Listeria monocytogenes - isolation & purification
Listeriosis - epidemiology
Milk - microbiology
Germany
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Summary:A commercial cheese (acid curd) made from pasteurized milk caused a large listeriosis outbreak in Germany from October 2006 through February 2007. The Listeria monocytogenes outbreak strain was identified in humans and in cheese samples from a patient's home and from the production plant. During the outbreak period, 189 patients were affected, which was 97% above the mean case number for the respective time period of the years 2002 to 2005. Of patients with available detailed information on cheese consumption (n=47), 70% reported to have consumed the incriminated cheese product. Recent European food safety alerts due to Listeria-contaminated cheeses more often concerned products made from pasteurized or heat-treated milk than from raw milk. The findings should be considered in prevention guidelines addressing vulnerable populations.
ISSN:1556-7125
DOI:10.1089/fpd.2010.0631