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Ready-to-eat fish products linked to Listeria outbreaks in Europe
2 years ago •source ecdc.europa.eu
Germany
Ready-to-eat fish products have been linked to a Listeria outbreak spanning 5 EU (European Union)/EEA (European Economic Area) countries, as per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). 64 cases have been recorded thus far.The outbreak, under investigation since 2016, is comprised of three sub-clusters of Listeria monocytogenes infections. To date, there have been 64 cases in sub-cluster 1, with 17 reported between 2022 and 2023. The breakdown is as follows: Austria (1), Belgium (1), Italy (8), Germany (6), and The Netherlands (1). Of these, ten cases resulted in fatalities in 2019 (2), 2020 (5), 2021 (1), 2022 (1), and 2023 (1).
The outbreak was uncovered through sequencing analysis which identified the strain in two Lithuanian fish processing plants and their products dating from 2016 to 2023. Products from these plants reached Germany and Italy's retail markets between 2022 and 2023. However, information is currently unavailable regarding the distribution of these products in the other countries reporting cases (Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands).
Production has been halted in one of the two processing plants, potentially mitigating the infection risk. Yet, further cases are anticipated, specifically among the immunosuppressed and individuals over 75, until all contamination sources are thoroughly controlled.
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