Cases where people have contracted listeria infection are investigated by the Public Health Authority in collaboration with the regional infection control units and the Swedish Food Agency. The outbreak of listeria can be linked to salmon products from one producer.
2023-09-01
A total of 19 people have been reported sick in the outbreak with the same variant of listeria serotype IIa ST37 since autumn 2022, of which 15 cases since the end of May this year (see figure). The cases are aged 63-93, of which 13 are men and six are women. The cases have been reported from 10 different regions. Six of the disease cases have died in close connection with their listeria infection. However, it is often difficult to say what role the listeria infection has as a cause of death because most of the patients affected have severe underlying diseases.
Of the cases for which there is information about what they ate before becoming ill, 14 cases have eaten some type of vacuum-packed salmon (digging/cold-smoked/hot-smoked salmon) from one of two different brands. Both of these brands are produced by the same company and listeria has been detected in both products and environmental samples in the company’s facility. Comparisons of the bacteria’s genetic material in samples from food, plants and human cases show that it is the same variant of listeria, which points to the salmon products being the likely source of infection. The company has increased its sampling and is carrying out further clean-up measures at the facility.
The outbreak is being investigated together with the infection control units and the Swedish Food Agency.
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