Listeriosis Claims 24 in County; Caution Urged

Health officials, reporting 24 deaths from listeriosis in Los Angeles County during the past year, warned Wednesday that pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses should avoid unpasteurized dairy products and unwashed produce that can carry the bacteria that causes the disease.

Officials say there is no apparent link between the 24 deaths, but warned that people in the high-risk groups should avoid unpasteurized milk and unlabeled cheese, especially fresh soft cheese. They also advise that soil should be carefully washed off fresh fruit and vegetables before they are eaten.

State and federal investigators estimate that 20 to 40 people, mostly newborn Latino infants in the Los Angeles area, died during the first seven months of 1985 as a result of Listeria monocytogenes contamination of Mexican-style cheese manufactured by Artesia-based Jalisco Mexican Products Inc.

In the first year of mandatory record-keeping of listeriosis initiated after the epidemic, Los Angeles County had 85 cases of the bacterial illness, including the 24 deaths, officials said.

No Connection

Investigations have been conducted on the 85 cases reported from August, 1985, through the end of last month, but no connection, such as a common food product, has been found, according to a statement issued by the Department of Health Services. Officials said they did not find anything surprising about the number of cases or deaths.

While the number of listeriosis cases has averaged six to eight a month over the past year, the percentage of perinatal cases has jumped sharply in the last two months, officials said. The average for such cases was 42% for the year, but of 13 cases reported in June and July, 69% were pregnancy-related, according to Laurene Mascola, a Department of Health Services epidemiologist. Among those cases there was one death, which was in a non-pregnancy-related case, she said.

Mascola said a healthy adult generally will not become seriously ill from the listeriosis bacteria.

“In fact 1% to 5% of the population normally carry Listeria in their intestinal tracts,” Mascola said.

Pregnant women must be cautious, she said, because “there is some minor impairment of the immune system during pregnancy” and “if the mother gets it, the odds are that the fetus will get it.”

Symptoms of listeriosis may resemble those of a mild case of flu or may be more severe, with fever, abdominal pain, headache, nausea and vomiting.