Raw milk cheese linked to two listeria deaths in US

LONDON. KAZINFORM Two people have died and four more have fallen ill following an outbreak of listeria linked to recalled cheese in several eastern US states, BBC reported.    

Officials say it was probably caused by a soft raw milk cheese called Ouleout from Vulto Creamery in New York state.

The cheese was stocked by a Whole Foods shop in Fairfield, Connecticut, and may also have been available in specialised cheese shops.

The creamery recalled several soft cheeses on Tuesday.

Six cases of listeria have been recorded in Connecticut and Vermont, where the deaths occurred, as well as in New York and Florida.

The people infected range in age from less than a year to 89, and five of them are female, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says . All six were taken to hospital and the identity of those who died has not been released.

Listeria bacteria can occur in raw milk and foods made with it, and can survive refrigeration. The bacteria are killed by cooking and pasteurisation.

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