Deadly listeria outbreak linked to deli meat, cheese sickens 8 in NYC area

This 2002 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, responsible for the food borne illness listeriosis
This 2002 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, responsible for the food borne illness listeriosis. Photo credit Elizabeth White/CDC via AP, File

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- A deadly multi-state listeria outbreak linked to deli meat and cheese has sickened eight people in the New York City area.

Sixteen people in six states have been sickened in all since April 2021, with 13 hospitalized, according to a bulletin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Seven people have fallen ill in New York, as well as one person in New Jersey.

The outbreak killed a Maryland resident and caused a pregnant woman to miscarry. Cases have also been found in Massachusetts, Illinois and California.

In New York, five of the infected people told federal health officials they’d eaten deli items from a NetCost, an international grocery chain with six locations in Brooklyn.

Several of the people who fell ill in New York said they'd eaten deli items from one of six NetCost supermarkets in Brooklyn
Several of the people who fell ill in New York said they'd eaten deli items from one of six NetCost supermarkets in Brooklyn. Photo credit Marla Diamond

The strain behind the outbreak was found in a deli at one of those Brooklyn locations, as well as in an open package of sliced salami bought from a NetCost on Staten Island.

The NetCost location in Brooklyn temporarily closed its deli last year after New York health officials notified the company that three people infected with listeria all ate food from there. After a deep cleaning, no listeria was detected. But this past September, the outbreak strain was found at the same market.

However, health officials don't believe the New York markets are the only source of the listeria outbreak, as some sick people didn't shop there.

NetCost did not immediately respond to an email for comment from the Associated Press.

Listeria spreads easily in deli environments and can linger on display cases and equipment, making it difficult for federal health investigators to pinpoint the source of the outbreak. The “hardy germ” can even survive and grow in cold refrigerators, the CDC said.

The outbreak has been linked to deli meat and cheese, on which listeria can spread
The outbreak has been linked to deli meat and cheese, on which listeria can spread. Photo credit U. J. Alexander

The CDC said that 11 of the people sickened are of Eastern European descent or speak Russian. Health officials are working to figure out why the outbreak is disproportionately affecting this population.

According to the CDC, people at the highest risk of listeria illness—pregnant women, people 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems—should not eat meat or cheese from any deli counter unless it is steaming hot or reheated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Symptoms of listeria poisoning include fever, muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Elizabeth White/CDC via AP, File