Charlie Smith
A TOTAL of 80 people have now contracted listeria in Andalucia, 15 of whom are pregnant.
The disease, which can be fatal, has hospitalised 56 of those who have been infected, according to the Junta de Andalucia.
Several of those infected are believed to have eaten the meat products of the Sevilla-based pork firm Magrudis.
The company’s star product, its meatloaf, called ‘Mecha’ has been widely cited by Spanish media as the source of the spread of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
The family-run business, which launched in 2013, ceased production on August 15, while a spokesperson said: “I’m very sorry, from now on we are not going to make any more statements about it.”
It comes after the company admitted that over 2,000 packs of its meat products were infected with the bacteria.
Most hospitalised patients are in Sevilla, with 43 recorded so far in the Andalucian capital.
Meanwhile five people in Huelva are bedbound, five in Cadiz, two in Malaga and one in Granada.
Of the 15 pregnant women infected, 11 are being monitored by the Gynecology Service of the Virgen del Rocio.
It is being investigated whether it was this outbreak that caused the termination of pregnancy of a woman on August 2.
Healthy people may have mild symptoms, however listeria can be fatal for older people, newborns and patients with weakened immune systems.
Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, vomiting or diarrhea, neck stiffness, dizziness and weakness.
“They [Magrudis] are conducting a thorough investigation from the baking process onwards to see how the contagion occurred,” said Jesus Peinado, deputy director of Health Protection of the General Directorate of Public Health.
