MIAMI – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a specific food item has not yet been identified as the source of a listeria outbreak. 

Listeria
Listeria monocytogenes, Gram-positive bacterium with flagella that causes food-borne infection listeriosis, and also meningitis and sepsis, 3D illustration

They said that most of the sick people in this outbreak live in or traveled to Florida about a month before they got sick. 

The CDC said one person had died and 22 required hospitalization. 

The person who died was from Illinois and one pregnant woman lost her fetus, the CDC said.  

Here’s a look at listeriosis, a serious infection generally caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.

Typically, Listeriosis affects older adults, pregnant women, infants and adults with compromised immune systems.

Pregnant women are approximately 10 times more likely to get listeriosis. Pregnant Hispanic women are 24 times more likely to get listeriosis than other people.

Symptoms and Treatment
Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, and sometimes diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems. Other symptoms are headache, confusion and convulsions.

Almost everyone diagnosed with listeriosis has an infection that has spread beyond the gastrointestinal tract.

Infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or infection of the newborn.

Listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics.

Prevention
General recommendations:
Thoroughly cook meat.
Clean raw fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating.
Keep uncooked meats and poultry separate from vegetables and from cooked foods.
Do not drink unpasteurized milk or eat foods that contain unpasteurized milk.
Wash hands, utensils and countertops after handling uncooked foods.

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