I became paralyzed after eating a turkey sandwich – what it’s like to REALLY get sick from listeria

This week, dozens of brands of frozen waffles were recalled due to possible contamination with the deadly bacteria listeria.

This was the eighth time this month alone that American companies had to pull food products from their shelves because of germs that cause food poisoning.

Experts warn that the food contamination problem is getting worse as the industry grows and supply chains become more complex.

For patients, the infections can be life-changing.

Michael Silberman, 86, of Florida, contracted listeria earlier this year, which led to brain swelling and seizures that required severe doctors to sedate him for weeks.

He can now only get around the house with a walker and cannot drive, go shopping, shower or care for his wife Barbara, who suffers from arthritis.

He claims he contracted the bug after eating a sliced ​​turkey sandwich made by Boar’s Head, which was part of a major recall related to listeria.

This April, Bonham, from Texas, delivered her baby stillborn at 37 weeks and two days. Doctors later determined that the child may have listeria

Mr. Silberman is suing the food giant, claiming the meat led to a listeria infection that progressed to meningitis and caused severe brain damage.

His age makes him particularly vulnerable to listeria, but so does his pregnancy and use of immunosuppressants because they block the body’s ability to fight the infection.

Mother-to-be April Bonham, from Texas, was told her daughter Olive was doing well during her 36-week scan.

But at the ultrasound the following week they were told that their daughter had no heartbeat.

She was stillborn in hospital on January 7, 2024, with her parents having no idea what had happened.

It was only after the tests came back that they discovered her death could have been caused by listeria.

Mother April revealed her case on TikTok: ‘I can’t emphasize enough how scary listeria is and how there are virtually no symptoms… because the mother is carrying the baby. I wasn’t even sick.

“I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong…I still blame myself.”

She added: ‘Delivering my baby at 37 weeks and being lifeless for two days will haunt me for the rest of my life.’

She had few symptoms of listeria the week before, saying only that she became so exhausted that she was sleeping 19 hours a day before the 37-week scan.

The mother is unsure where she contracted the listeria and says she avoided all processed meats, pre-packaged meals and sushi during her pregnancy.

Ten deaths have been linked to the listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head meat and at least 59 others were hospitalized in late September.

The CDC notes that “the actual number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the reported number.”

People can become infected with listeria from contaminated food products, which can pick up the bacteria from water containing feces or improperly cleaned surfaces.

The bacteria can survive the stomach acid and travel to the intestines, from where they can migrate into the bloodstream.

Above is the Boar’s Head factory, where reports indicate insects, mold and liquid dripped from the ceiling and onto ready-to-eat food products

Most healthy adults will start to feel sick within a few days of consuming contaminated food.

It usually starts with flu-like symptoms – fever, muscle aches or nausea – before progressing to vomiting and diarrhea.

Some people start feeling sick weeks or months after the initial infection.

This is because listeria can become inactive when faced with environmental stress, such as in nutrient-deprived water or in the presence of detergents.

In more severe cases, listeria can cause confusion, light-headedness, loss of balance, and even convulsions, as the disease can spread to the central nervous system (CNS) and affect the brain.

In the most severe cases, listeria can lead to meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, or to a build-up of pus in the brain.

These can be fatal.

In his lawsuit, the couple says Mr. Silberman purchased the turkey at their local Publix supermarket on July 15 of this year and ate it in sandwiches over the next few days.

However, seven days later he developed a high fever, and after another two days the couple had to call the emergency services.

Rescuers who arrived at the scene said he had tachypnea, or rapid breathing, “altered mental status” and signs of sepsis.

He was taken from his Delray Beach home on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room, where doctors quickly diagnosed him with a listeria infection.

He spent two weeks in the hospital, where medical staff treated his brain swelling, cognitive complications and kidney failure.

He was then transferred to a rehabilitation center, where he spent another month working to regain the muscle mass he had lost due to the disease.

Only later did the couple connect his illness with the turkey and the memory of the Boar’s Head.

Boar’s Head first announced the return of meat from its liverwurst on July 25, ten days after Mr. Silberman purchased the turkey meat.

This was stated by the couple’s lawyer, Jason Cornell WPTV: ‘He suffered from sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis, very serious conditions – and he was in hospital for a month and can’t remember anything about it.

“He was thriving before this exposure, driving, working out at the gym, living in the house, living independently…he can’t do that anymore.

“He has to walk with a walker, so we are very concerned about him and his ability to care for his wife.”

Trevor Craig, a food safety expert at Microbac Laboratories in Pennsylvania, told DailyMail.com that the US may record more larger outbreaks because supply chains are now much larger than before.

This leads to more steps in food processing and packaging, he said, increasing the risk of product contamination.

He also said that regulators may now be testing more products than before, leading to more recalls than before.

Consumer food safety advocate Darin Detwiler agrees, but adds that this could also be caused by a shift in consumer preferences toward more fresh foods, increasing the risk of contamination.

The above map shows the number of states with listeria contamination linked to Boar’s Head and the number of cases in each state

CDC statistics show that about 1,600 people are hospitalized with listeria each year, mostly ages 65 and older, and about 260 people die from the disease.

There are no good figures on the number of cases and deaths per year caused by listeria linked to food poisoning.

But this year’s number appears to be the highest since at least 2011, when 30 people died and 147 were hospitalized after eating melons contaminated with listeria sold by Jensen Farms in Colorado.

Boar’s Head has recalled more than 7 million pounds of meat and poultry after listeria contamination was first discovered in its liverwurst products in July.

Records have since revealed that the Virginia-based factory where the meat was prepared was filthy, harboring mold and insects, and had liquid dripping from the ceiling.

The couple are just the latest to sue Boar’s Head after the company, which is valued at $1.2 billion, also faced legal action from the family of a Holocaust survivor who died after eating the liverwurst , and of a woman in Missouri who became ‘sick to death’ of the meat.

It comes after more than 10 million pounds of meat, made by a packaging company and sold at stores like Trader Joe’s, Walmart and in children’s lunch halls, was also recalled this month over fears of listeria contamination.

A spokesperson for Publix, which is also named in the lawsuit, said, “It would be independent for us to comment on pending litigation.”

Boar’s Head did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

But a company spokesperson previously said: ‘(We) deeply regret the impact this recall has had on the affected families. No words can fully express our compassion and the sincere and deep pain we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.”

The last major recall was in 2019, when Tyson Foods recalled 12 million pounds of chicken strips — but this was about possible metal shards in the food, not bacterial contamination. No deaths or injuries have been reported.