THE CDC continues to report new illnesses and deaths in a multistate Listeria outbreak linked to prepared meals. Investigators are determining whether newly affected individuals consumed recalled products or if additional contaminated foods remain in circulation.
Listeria Outbreak Updates
The latest CDC alert identifies seven new illnesses since the prior update including six new hospitalizations and two reported deaths. These events include cases in Hawaii and Oregon and are still under investigation. The CDC is asking consumers to check refrigerators and freezers for recalled ready-to-eat meals that remain within their use by dates because Listeria monocytogenes can persist in cold environments and may seed cross contamination across surfaces such as refrigerator shelving and food storage containers.
Clinical Relevance for High-Risk Individuals
The Listeria outbreak is clinically important because the pathogen is more likely to cause invasive infection in older adults immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women. Clinical progression may be delayed and symptoms may not appear for up to ten weeks following exposure which lengthens the diagnostic window. For pregnant patients early recognition is essential as listeriosis may cause pregnancy loss preterm birth or neonatal infection. For older adults and those with weakened immunity severe sepsis hospitalization and death are more common.
Practical Implications for U.S. Practice
The CDC recommends that potentially exposed individuals seek clinical evaluation promptly if they experience fever myalgias or neurologic symptoms following consumption of recalled foods. Clinicians may wish to consider Listeria monocytogenes in differential diagnosis when evaluating compatible symptom clusters particularly among high-risk groups. The CDC also emphasizes cleaning refrigerator surfaces that may have contacted recalled foods because cold temperature stability allows Listeria to persist on fomites and ready-to-eat items. Healthcare professionals may guide patients to review current recall lists and discard affected product to reduce ongoing exposure risk.
In addition clinicians may wish to remind patients that symptoms can emerge much later than the original exposure window. This prolonged latency underscores the need for maintaining clinical suspicion even weeks after recall announcements.
Reference: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC continues to note illnesses despite product recalls and asks consumers to check for recalled foods in Listeria outbreak linked to prepared meals. 2025. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2025/2025-cdc-continues-to-note-illnesses-despite-product-recalls.html. Last accessed: November 10, 2025.
