CDC warns of listeria outbreak in cheese sold at Whole Foods as 2 Americans die and 23 are hospitalized in 11 states

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning Americans about a listeria outbreak linked to dairy products sold nationwide that has killed two people.

Researchers said contaminated cheese, crema and yogurt made by Rizo-Lopez Foods have been voluntarily recalled due to the potentially deadly infection, listeria.

The products are sold in a number of major supermarket chains, including Food City and Whole Foods.

The CDC says 26 Americans have fallen ill and 23 have been hospitalized in 11 states. Two deaths have been reported: one in California and one in Texas.

The agency is recalling 61 products, including cheese, yogurt and sour cream (crema), sold under 13 brand names, including 365 Whole Foods Market and Food City.

The healthcare items were sold between June 2014 and December 2023.

The agency urged people to throw away any affected products, clean your refrigerator and surfaces and call a health care provider immediately if you experience symptoms.

Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or seizures.

The CDC collected questions from people who were sick about the foods they ate within a month of becoming ill, although not all patients were surveyed. The agency indicates it is still conducting interviews.

Of the 22 patients interviewed, 16 – 73 percent – ​​reported eating queso fresco, cotija or other similar cheeses.

The patients ranged from less than one year old to 88 years old, and the average age was 52 years.

About 58 percent of the sick were women and 42 percent were men.

The majority of those affected (71 percent) were white. Five percent were Native American or Alaska Native, and 24 percent reported some other race.

Additionally, 85 percent reported being Hispanic.

Among those who remembered the specific brands, three who became ill between 2014 and 2022 reported the Don Francisco cheese brand.

The agency also took DNA fingerprint samples of bacteria in a process known as Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).

WGS showed that bacteria from samples taken from sick patients were genetically closely related, suggesting that people affected by the outbreak became sick from the same foods.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted investigations at the Rizo-Lopez plant and collected samples.

They found the outbreak of listeria on a container where cheeses are stored before being packaged.

Listeria is an infection normally caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.

Most people who eat food contaminated with Listeria will not become seriously ill. But in some cases it can cause confusion and seizures, miscarriage in pregnant women, and even death.

This can happen when the infection spreads beyond the intestines and can affect the central nervous system, leading to numbness and seizures.

The CDC estimates that 1,600 Americans become infected with listeria each year, and about 260 die.