001244 Link Sought Between Deaths And Cargill Turkey

Washington - U.S. health officials are investigating four deaths, three instances of miscarriage or stillbirth, and more than a dozen other cases of illness possibly linked to tainted ready-to-eat poultry products manufactured by Cargill Turkey Products, a government official said.

Sonja Olsen, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the agency was investigating 28 cases of illness, including the deaths of four elderly people, due to turkey products contaminated with the potentially deadly bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.

On Thursday, Cargill Turkey Products voluntarily recalled about 16.7 million pounds of its ready-to-eat poultry products produced in Waco, Texas. The Arkansas turkey processor is a division of Cargill, the largest privately held corporation in the United States.

Cargill said the poultry products were produced from May 1 to December 11 and distributed throughout the United States, Venezuela and Iceland.

“We are take these outbreaks very seriously,” Olsen said. “Our investigation is ongoing.”

Listeria can be fatal for small children, the elderly and those with weak immune systems. The bacteria can cause high fever, neck stiffness, nausea and stillbirths.

“The several high-risk groups should be the most concerned, which include infected pregnant women, elderly, people with cancer, kidney disease and AIDS ,” Olsen said.

EPA officials said the current 28 cases were found in 10 states. The most recent outbreak occurred on Nov. 26.

“The difficulty with Listeria is the incubation period could be up to 30 days,” Olsen said.

Cargill Turkey Products said the Waco facility sold some products in bulk that were sliced at restaurants and would not be readily identifiable by consumers. The company has contacted establishments that purchased those products, which are being removed and returned.

Cargill said the identifiable products carry the establishment number P-635.

An estimated 2,500 cases of Listeria occur in the United States annually, a relatively small number compared with salmonella, campylobacter and other food poisoning agents. But Listeria ranks among the most deadly, with 92% of those infected requiring hospitalization and 20% dying, according to CDC estimates.

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