Listeria case found in the Capital region
Investigators look for links in listeria cases found last month
August 14, 2005
By WNYT Staff/Associated Press
A sometimes fatal strain of listeria has turned up in the capital region, and state investigators are looking for links to three cases found last month in the Syracuse area.
Schenectady County health officials confirmed the single case Friday.
Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The disease affects primarily pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems.
Kathy Sen, supervising nurse at the Schenectady County Health Department, says it looks like the cases are from the same source.
Sen says the unidentified patient is thought to have been hospitalized with the illness last month before recovering. Health officials would not provide details about the patient, citing federal confidentiality rules.
State health officials are looking for a food item, restaurant or other common denominator among the four victims.
Listeriosis can be fatal, but severe symptoms are unusual in healthy adults and children.
