A prior Deadly Deli Listeria Outbreak in NYC

We are representing the family of one New Yorker that died several months after his infection after he consumed products purchased at two of the locations identified as sources of the Listeria outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state partners investigated a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections in 2023. This outbreak was given the CDC outbreak code: 2107MLGX6-1. 

A total of 16 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria were reported from 6 states (CA, IL (2), MD (2), MA (2), NJ, and NY (7)). Case samples were collected from April 17, 2021, to September 29, 2022. Sick people ranged in age from 38 to 92 years, with a median age of 74, and 62% were male. Of 15 people with race or ethnicity information available, 13 were white, one was African American/black, one was Asian, and no one reported Hispanic ethnicity. Eleven people were of Eastern European background or spoke Russian. Of 14 people with healthcare information available, 13 were hospitalized. One person got sick during their pregnancy, resulting in pregnancy loss. Additionally, one death was reported from Maryland.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of case samples showed that bacteria were closely related genetically. This suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from the same food.

Of the 12 people interviewed, 11 reported eating meat or cheese from deli counters. Among seven sick people in New York, five bought sliced deli meat or cheese from at least one location of NetCost Market, a grocery store chain that sells international foods. Sick people from other states purchased deli meats or cheeses from other European delis. NetCost Market delis are unlikely to be the only source of illnesses because some sick people in the outbreak did not shop at a NetCost Market. A contaminated food likely introduced the outbreak strain of Listeria into delis in multiple states.

In 2021, health officials in New York state and New York City found the outbreak strain of Listeria in several environmental and food samples: environmental samples from a NetCost Market deli in Brooklyn, NY, several open packages of mortadella and ham that were sliced at the same NetCost Market deli in Brooklyn, NY, and sliced salami that a sick person bought from a NetCost Market deli in Staten Island, NY. 

Brooklyn NetCost Market, 733281

Date sampled: 10/18/2021

Isolate IDs: 21B12173P-10 (SRR16762675) 21B12173P-5 (SRR16762519) 21B12173S-1 (SRR16762519) 21B12173S-7 (SRR16762466) 21B12173T-5 (SRR16763195) 21B12173T-6 (SRR16762871

Staten Island NetCost Market, 641202

Date sampled: 11/30/2021

Isolate IDs: 21B13801Y-1 (SRR17262987) 21B13801Y-6 (SRR17262931) – Isolates fall into a large cluster of clinical and environmental isolates. Isolates match 3 clinical isolates, PNUSAL004935 from 2019, PNUSAL004908 from 2019, PNUSAL002408 from 2016. SNP Cluster : PDS000024856.130

Brooklyn NetCost Market, 733281

Date sampled: 3/1/2022

Isolate IDs: 22B02348M-2 (SRR18402590) 22B02348M-9 (SRR18402636), 22B02348O-5 (SRR18402619), 22B02348O-6 (SRR18402591 – PulseNet data shows that isolate 22B02348M-2, 22B02348M-9, and 22B02348O-5 match previous Net Cost isolates collected on 10/18/2021 and 11/16/2021.

NetCost Market voluntarily closed the deli temporarily in Brooklyn after New York officials notified them about the sampling results. NetCost Market performed a deep cleaning and then reopened the deli in Brooklyn after further environmental testing did not find Listeria. In September 2022, the outbreak strain was found at the same Brooklyn NetCost Market deli; however, the most recent illness with NetCost Market exposure was in October 2021.

Epidemiologic and laboratory data showed that meat and cheese from deli counters made people sick. A single deli or food source was not identified. As of March 29, 2023, this outbreak is over.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.

Source: https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/a-prior-deadly-deli-listeria-outbreak-in-nyc/