Charlie Smith
A 90-YEAR-OLD woman has become the first fatality of the listeria outbreak in Andalucia.
Her death comes as 114 people in the region are known to be infected, with a popular brand of meatloaf reported to be the origin of the listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
The director of Sevilla’s Virgen del Roco hospital confirmed that the deceased had eaten the meat product, called ‘Mecha’.
The family-run pork business Magrudis, also based in the city, are the manufacturers of the food.
What you need to know
Symptoms include:
• a high temperature of 38C or above
• aches and pains
• chills
• feeling sick or vomiting
• diarrhoea
Listeria mainly affects:
• unpasteurised milk
• dairy products made from unpasteurised milk
• soft cheeses, like camembert and brie
• chilled ready-to-eat foods, like prepacked sandwiches, pâté and deli meats
Among those affected with lisiteriosis are 15 pregnant women and the infection can cause abortion and fetal death.
Following the outbreak, supermarket Alcampo has removed the firm’s meatloaf, meatloaf cream, loin, pork rinds and zurrapa from its shelves.
On August 16 the Spanish Government declared a health alert, while in Andalucia alone, there are 53 people hospitalised.
It comes as the infected meat products were revealed to have been distributed to Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Tenerife and Madrid.
They are also believed to have been sent to Catalunya, but were stopped before reaching the autonomous community.
It was also revealed by the Municipal Laboratory in Sevilla that the Malaga town of Benaojan had prepared some of the products.
