A federal lawsuit alleges that the listeria outbreak, which has been connected to contaminated Boar’s Head deli meats, has now reached Alabama.
A woman has recently filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of her son, who is currently hospitalized with the deadly foodborne pathogen.
A man purchased Boar’s Head Bologna from a grocery store in Huntsville in late July, as stated in the complaint. Shortly after consuming it, he experienced symptoms such as fever, headaches, nausea, and other related ailments that led to his hospitalization.
According to the complaint, the man’s condition deteriorated further. He experienced drooping on one side of his face and had difficulty breathing, to the extent that he required the use of a ventilator.
According to the complaint, he was transferred to another hospital and underwent a spinal tap on or around August 7th. The results of the spinal tap confirmed the presence of listeria in his body.
The man’s condition has reached a critical stage where he is incapable of communication, and there is uncertainty regarding his survival.
On July 26, Boar’s Head Provisions Co, Inc. issued its initial recall following a Maryland laboratory’s discovery of Listeria monocytogenes in a liverwurst sample. As a result, the company decided to recall all liverwurst products and deli meats manufactured on the same production line, which included bologna. The recall further expanded on July 31 and now encompasses a total of 71 products. As a precautionary measure, more than 7 million pounds of deli meats and poultry items have been removed from store shelves.
According to the latest update on August 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring and investigating this outbreak.
According to the CDC, there were 43 confirmed cases of the illness in 13 states, excluding Alabama. The CDC also mentioned that it takes around three to four weeks to establish whether an individual is connected to the outbreak. Additionally, they stated that the actual number of affected individuals is likely to be higher than what has been reported so far.
According to WBRC, the Alabama Department of Public Health has stated that it cannot currently confirm a case of listeria infection in Alabama that is linked to this outbreak. Due to privacy concerns, they are unable to provide any information on individual infections.
Boar’s Head has not responded to WBRC’s request for comment on this lawsuit at the time of publishing.
