NORTHEAST OHIO — Listeria, a potentially deadly food-borne bacteria, was found in high levels of fluids dripping from garbage trucks onto neighbourhood streets, a Channel 3 News investigation found.
The bacteria has a mortality rate of 20 percent and, according to microbiologist Roger Pryor, of Accra Labs in Twinsburg, it poses an especially significant threat to the elderly, children and to pregnant women.
Channel 3 news collected samples of fluids spilling from garbage trucks in Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Maple Heights and Brooklyn and had them tested.
In addition to listeria, Accra Labs found very high levels of bacteria and low levels of salmonella.
Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek says homeowners in the Collinwood neighbourhood he represents often complain about the filthy stains left behind by city trash haulers.
“It becomes a major problem because you don’t know what’s in it,” said Polensek.
Some experts say a single drop of listeria is enough to make you sick. Children playing ball in the streets can easily come in contact with the contaminated fluid.
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