What is Listeria?

 What is Listeria?

Listeria is a bacterial genus that contains six species.Named after the English pioneer of sterile surgery Joseph Lister, the genus received its current name in 1940. Listeria species are Gram-positive bacilli and are typified by L. monocytogenes, the causative agent of listeriosis.

Listeria ivanovii is a pathogen of ruminants, and can infect mice in the laboratory, although it is only rarely the cause of human disease.

Listeria outbreak linked cantaloupes death toll rises

Breaking News! Death Toll Rises caused by a bacteria known as "Listeria" and was said to be coming from  Cantaloupes. 

Now researchers, scientist, doctors are examining the possible agent of the Listeria outbreak.  Here's an article posted from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ 

If in doubt, throw it out. Unless you can be sure of the source of that cantaloupe in your kitchen, it's best to toss it. That's the word from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is trying to put a lid on one of the worst listeria outbreaks in U.S. history.

So far, there are 72 reported cases of listeria linked to tainted cantaloupes, and 13 deaths. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected and the toll could rise, according to the Associated Press.  

The tainted melons that triggered the multi-state listeriosis outbreak have been traced to Jensen Farms in Granada, Colo.

"If it's not Jensen farms, it's okay to eat," Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC director, said in a media conference call today. "But if you can't confirm that it's not Jensen farms, then it's best to throw it out."

Some of the cantaloupes were exported out of the country, and the CDC has been issuing recalls both inside and outside the U.S. for all the affected melons.




Read the full story:http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/listeria-outbreak-linked-to-cantaloupes-could-worsen.html