Two People Dead in Listeria Outbreak Connected to Raw Milk Cheese

 At least two people have died in a multi-state listeria outbreak that has been linked to cheese made with raw milk in Walton, New York. According to a Fox News report, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are looking into the deadly contamination that has been traced to recalled cheese. Several people have become ill after consuming the cheese and two deaths were reported in Connecticut and Vermont.

Recalled Raw Milk Cheese
The company that made the cheese had issued a recall March 7 for all lots of Ouleout, Mirand, Heinennellie and Willowemec soft wash-rind raw milk cheeses after two samples tested positive for listeria. The Connecticut Department of Health, which got involved in the investigation, tested leftover cheese from a deceased victim’s home. The sample tested positive for listeria and the family identified it as cheese from Vulto Creamery. The raw milk cheeses were distributed nationwide, with most of the products being sold at retail locations in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, California, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C.
On March 8, Whole Foods announced a recall of Vulto cheeses from nine of its stores including those in New York. The first illness was reported as early as September 2016, but the FDA did not begin its investigation until the end of January, a week after the sixth case was discovered. The victims are from Connecticut, Florida, New York and Vermont. They range in ages from newborn to 89. CDC is urging restaurants and retailers to not serve or sell these cheeses made by Vulto Creamery.
Listeriosis Can Be Dangerous
Listeriosis is a serious infection that is usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes. About 1,600 people get listeriosis each year and about 260 die as a result. The infection often affects pregnant women and their newborns, adults 65 or older and people who have weakened or compromised immune systems.
People who are afflicted can display a variety of symptoms. The symptoms tend to depend on the individual and the part of the body that has been affected. Like other food-borne illnesses, listeria can result in diarrhea and fever. Symptoms in people where the bacteria have spread beyond the gut may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions and muscle aches. Pregnant women typically experience fever and other flu-like symptoms. Infections during pregnancy may lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
If You Have Suffered Food Poisoning
If you have suffered food poisoning, there are a number of steps you can take to protect your legal rights:
• Get prompt medical attention, care and treatment for your illness. Some food-borne illnesses may require hospitalization and immediate treatment to prevent dehydration and other complications. It is also important that you receive a quick diagnosis so you can get the appropriate treatment.
• Save important evidence such as a restaurant or store receipt. If you have any of the food left over, isolate, label and preserve it so it can be tested in a laboratory for pathogens.
• Save all receipts of expenses you incurred as a result of the food poisoning from medical bills, number of workdays missed to cost of diagnostic tests, etc.
• Report your illness to the local healthcare agency, which tracks these types of outbreaks. You may not be the only one who contracted the infection. Reports from the public help officials track the source of the infection and/or outbreak and potentially prevent more cases from occurring.
• Immediately contact an experienced food poisoning lawyer who will help protect your legal rights and best interests.
Compensation for Your Losses
Companies that manufacture food and establishments that sell or serve you food are required under the law to adhere to safety standards. Victims who have been sickened by contaminated food can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If you or a loved one has been sickened as a result of food poisoning or if you have lost a loved one as the result of a food-borne illness, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/03/10/at-least-2-dead-in-multi-state-listeria-outbreak-linked-to-cheese.html