By: Darcie Thom

The rising number of deaths due to a potentially dangerous and deadly bacterium, Listeria, has now taken another life, with a total of 12 deaths. Out of the 12 deaths connected to Listeria, most have occurred in Ontario. Seven more deaths, five in Ontario, one in Saskatchewan and another in Quebec, are all being investigated by the Public Health Agency of Canada to determine whether or not the same strain of Listeria was present.

This deadly foodborne illness is a result of a disease-causing bacterium known as Listeria monocytogenes. There are six forms of bacteria that make up Listeria. The United States has reported that over 2,500 illnesses and 500 deaths have occurred due to the assumption of Listeriosis being the cause.

The bacteria, which causes Listeria, can be found in farm animals’ grazing areas, soil, vegetation, sewage, silage, human and animal stool, stale water and poorly-prepared animal feed. Listeria can survive not only in the exterior environment, but is able to live in the intestines of humans, animals and birds for a very long time period before it causes infection. Unlike other bacteria, Listeria also has the ability, when grown, to survive in temperatures below freezing to body temperature and grows at its best in temperatures between 0 degrees F and 50 degrees F, which includes refrigerator and cooler temperatures.

In a matter of 24 hours, confirmed cases of Listeria went from 33 to 38 and suspected cases went from 21 to 25 nationwide. These cases are related to the tainted deli-meat that was prepared and recalled by Maple Leaf Foods Ltd.

China is the latest country to put a stop on all of the Maple Leaf Foods meat imports. It seems that there are a lot of meats, deli-meats, milk products, and food products in general that are being recalled.

An epidemic, if you will, has seemed to spread across Canada, the United States and across the world. A look at the world’s population we see that only few people are actually targeted, however, there have been a rise in deaths and illnesses due to what is believed to be Listeria. Healthy people who are exposed to Listeria are less likely to develop symptoms and are low risk of becoming ill. People who are more likely to be affected, if exposed to this form of bacteria, are the very young, very old, pregnant women, and people who have weakened immune systems.

At this point, some people fear eating meat at all, while others feel that the proper steps have been taken for the public’s safety and will continue to purchase meat.

The online search for the recent lists are hard to find but with great luck and an hour later, I have found a few for you. For detailed information about the most recent meat brands, serial numbers and dates, search the web with the heading “CTV.ca - complete list of affected Maple Leaf Products”.

People are also welcome to call 1-800-442-2342 for recent lists or visit http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/list97be.shtml