The people who died were from Kansas. Listeria is a potentially deadly infection caused by food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, Health Centers claim. The disease mainly affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems from cancer, cancer treatment, or another serious illness.
The number of patients with the disease has increased, Carol Crawford, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday.
According to medical tests, three other people in Texas had the same strain of listeria found in five other patients at a hospital in Wichita, Kansas. Three of these died and local health authorities said listeriosis, also known as listeria, may have contributed to their deaths.
The Texas patients were hospitalized for medical problems stemming from listeria. They were hospitalized between 2011 and 2014, and apparently became infected during their hospitalization after consuming a cup of Blue Bell produced at the company’s plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The product had been recalled and the plant, one of four the company has, has temporarily closed.
Other cases have been recorded between 2010 and 2012, however it is necessary to further investigate whether these are related or linked to the products.
Blue Bell Creameries announced Tuesday a third product recall as a result of the contamination.