The death of a B.C. man is the fourth in a cross-Canada listeriosis outbreak that might be linked to tainted meat products, health officials confirmed Friday.
The latest confirmed death was a 64-year-old Vancouver Island man who had been hospitalized in Cowichan District Hospital in Duncan, B.C., officials with the BC Centre for Disease Control said Friday. The man, who died on July 29, may have consumed an affected meat product during his stay there.
So far, another three people in Ontario have died from the bacterial infection, the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed Friday.
An elderly woman who lived at a St. Catharines, Ont., retirement home was the third death linked to the dangerous bacterial infection to be confirmed. A spokesman for the Niagara Region Health Authority reported that the woman in St. Catharines died in early June.
Earlier Friday, officials had announced an elderly woman from Waterloo, Ont., had become the second death in the province to be connected to listeriosis.
"It is a confirmed case as part of the larger outbreak," Chris Komorowski, manager of the food safety program at the Region of Waterloo Public Health, told CTV.ca.
"What we were able to confirm today was the cause of death and the cause of death is due to listeriosis."
Komorowski said that for privacy reasons, he could not confirm the woman's exact age or if she was a resident of a nursing home. However, he did say that she was over 70.
Officials confirmed Thursday that an elderly woman in Hamilton, Ont., was the first fatality to be positively linked to the outbreak.
17 confirmed cases
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is working in collaboration with the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other Health Authorities to investigate an increase in cases of listeriosis in B.C. with the same genetic fingerprint.
The deaths come during a nationwide outbreak of listeriosis, with 17 confirmed cases across the country: 13 in Ontario, three in British Columbia and one each in Saskatchewan and Quebec.
Sixteen other samples are being tested: 12 in Ontario, two from B.C. and one each from Alberta and Saskatchewan, Dr. Robert Clarke told reporters Friday at an Ottawa press conference.
"These numbers will increase as the number of suspect cases increases over the next few days as the investigation is ongoing," Clarke said.
Toronto Public Health officials announced Friday that there are eight cases of listeriosis in the city that are linked to the Ontario outbreak.
"Three are confirmed cases, four are probable cases and one is a suspect case," Dr. Vinita Dubey, Toronto's associate medical officer of health, told reporters at a press conference.
Officials in Peterborough, Ont., said they are waiting to confirm if two recent deaths are linked to listeriosis, The Canadian Press reports.
Public health officials have not yet confirmed where the outbreak started. They said Friday that test results may be completed as soon as this weekend that could confirm a link to the recall of nearly two dozen Maple Leaf products manufactured at a Toronto plant.
Maple Leaf has recalled 23 packaged meat products, including sliced cooked turkey breast, roast beef and salami.
The recall began last Sunday, when Maple Leaf issued a recall of its Sure Slice roast beef and corn beef products, which are produced at its Toronto plant, after they tested positive for low levels of listeria.
To date, 18 samples, representing six different types of meat, have tested positive for the listeria bacteria, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday.
However, the agency is confident that more products will not have to be added to the recall.
The products that are part of the recall have been distributed to nursing homes, delis and restaurants across Canada, including McDonald's and Mr. Sub.
The products that were recalled came from two specific production lines at the Toronto plant.
The two production lines are now being dismantled and the plant will remain closed at least for the weekend.
Maple Leaf record 'excellent'
Maple Leaf Foods spokesperson Linda Smith told CTV Newsnet Friday that even though a link has not been made between the listeriosis outbreak and the meat recall, "We have to act as if there is."
Smith said the listeria bacteria are very pervasive, as it can be found in everything from soil to vegetables to meat to dairy products. Therefore, officials at the plant are "constantly looking for it, constantly swabbing and looking for it."
Smith said the equipment at the plant is sanitized every day and officials take about 3,000 swabs per year. The plant also has a microbiologist on site, she said.
"This plant has an excellent food safety record, excellent inspection record, excellent external auditors. We'll never know exactly how it got here."
Smith said the only recourse Maple Leaf Foods has is to recall all the food and do everything possible to rid the plant of the bacteria.
She said that almost all of the meat distributed for retail sale and for commercial use had been recalled.
The recalled products were produced from June 2 onward.
The 23 products have an establishment number of 97B and have best before dates ranging from Sept. 30 to Jan. 1, 2009.
Premier speaks
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made his first public comments on the outbreak Friday, saying it was Ontario that "blew the whistle," The Canadian Press reports.
McGuinty credited the province's post-SARS tracking system with helping officials get a handle on the outbreak early on.
"We've put in place a new system that allows us to detect an outbreak and to see a pattern very early in the game," McGuinty said during a visit to Thunder Bay, Ont.
"I'm glad we got hold of it early and now we'll take serious steps working with the feds to put it behind us."
Elderly at risk
Komorowski said listeriosis is a rare disease. About 11 cases of the infection occur in Toronto every year, city public health officials said.
However, those at a higher risk for contracting the infection such as the elderly, the immune compromised and pregnant women, need to be careful now that there is an outbreak.
Symptoms of listeriosis include nausea, vomiting, cramps and fever. The infection develops after the consumption of foods that are tainted with the listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
"Most people would just have mild, maybe flu-like symptoms or just be asymptomatic, but with the elderly there can be more severe symptoms and it can lead to meningitis, encephalitis, abscess and it can be fatal," Komorowski said.
He also said that if a fetus is exposed to the bacteria it can lead to a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Listeriosis has a 90-day incubation period, which means anyone who contracted it recently could still exhibit symptoms for the first time several weeks from now.
The infection is treated with antibiotics and patients can be on medication for as long as six weeks.
Public health officials across the country have been warning hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes and restaurants about the outbreak and ensuring that meat that is part of the recall is not being served to patrons.
