Another death attributed to listeria outbreak

Another Dane has died as a result of the recent listeria outbreak, the Danish State Serum Institute (SSI) confirmed on Tuesday. 

 

The outbreak, which stems from the deli meat rullepølse, has now led to 13 deaths. 

 

An SSI spokesman confirmed the new death to media outlets on Tuesday. The new confirmed death comes one day after SSI reported an additional four cases of infection, bringing the total number to 24. 

 

The listeria bacteria has been traced to the food company Jørn A. Rullepølser A/S, which has now been shut down. Up to 30 different products have been recalled, but SSI said that more infections could be confirmed in the coming weeks due to how long it takes for symptoms of listeriosis to appear. 

 

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestrylsen) had been criticised for not acting quickly enough in responding to the outbreak. 

 

SSI informed Fødevarestyrelsen of a possible outbreak on June 26th, but it wasn’t until August 12th that authorities went public with the information and announced that the outbreak had been traced to Jørn A. Rullepølser A/S.

 

“When there is evidence of a direct connection between a food product and deaths, the control authorities should immediately carry out a thorough investigation of the particular company. That did not happen quickly enough, which is criticizable,” the food and agriculture minister, Dan Jørgensen, said on Sunday.