2 Dead in Listeria Outbreak That Has Been Linked to Cheese

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Federal health officials are investigating a listeria outbreak in several states that has been tied to at least two deaths and may be linked to cheese.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that six people, including a newborn, have been infected with listeria since September. All of them were hospitalized and two of them have died.

The source of the outbreak appears to be Vulto Creamery, a New York-based facility that makes soft raw milk cheese and distributes products nationwide, officials said. The company recalled the cheeses Tuesday. Vulto Creamery said in a statement to TIME that it is “very busy working on this recall with FDA and our customers.”

Read More: How to Avoid Listeria

Those infected were from Connecticut, Florida, New York and Vermont. The two who died lived in Connecticut and Vermont, respectively.

About 260 people die every year from listeria, a serious infection that is typically caused by eating contaminated food, according to the CDC.

 

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