The source of a Listeria outbreak that has sickened 38 people including 11 who died since 2018, has been traced to frozen nutritional shakes, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The contaminated shakes, sold under the brands Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial, were distributed to nursing homes, hospitals and long-term care facilities across 21 states, including California.
Nearly 90% of those infected in this outbreak were either hospitalized or living in long-term care facilities before getting sick, the FDA said.
Listeria symptoms can take weeks to appear, said Dr. Ian Neel, a geriatrician at UC San Diego Health.
“They can range from simple gastroenteritis-type symptoms, which is a foodborne stomach infection where we get nausea — we get vomiting. Sometimes it could present as back pain, and then also all the basic … flu-like symptoms, muscle aches and fatigue, chills, fever, inability to keep food down.” Neel said.
According to The Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 6 older adults who develop a Listeria infection die from the illness. Neel said that’s due to a combination of factors, including a weaker immune system.
“It's kind of a culmination of both age-related changes in our physiology as well as pathophysiology or disease processes that we accumulate over time, both of which predispose us to more serious consequences from infectious diseases.”
On Friday, the FDA ordered the companies to stop selling the shakes and customers to stop serving them. The agency is working with the CDC and local health departments to track the outbreak.
So far, no hospitals or nursing homes in San Diego County have reported cases linked to the recalled shakes. County health officials say they are investigating known listeria cases to see if there are any connected with these products.
