Canada:5th death confirmed in bacterial outbreak

5th death confirmed in bacterial outbreak
Health officials investigate more deaths linked to listeria monocytogenes outbreak
Jorge Barrera and Becky Rynor , Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, August 22, 2008
Five deaths have now been linked to an outbreak of listeriosis, including the first confirmed outside of Ontario, health officials confirmed Friday.

A 64-year-old B.C. man has died at Vancouver Island's Cowichan District Hospital from the illness, which has been linked to the consumption of tainted luncheon meat that was the subject of a nationwide recall.

The man had other serious underlying health conditions, said the Vancouver Island Health Authority in a press release. He may have consumed the affected meat while in hospital, said VIHA, since the meat is purchased in bulk by hospitals and care homes across the country.

He died on July 29, but it took time to confirm the cause of death, VIHA said.

"This incident occurred prior to the Canada-wide recall of certain Maple Leaf products," the BC Centre for Disease Control said in a statement late Friday.

The tainted meat was possibly served at Cowichan District Hospital as well as Victoria General Hospital, Royal Jubilee Hospital, Saanich Peninsula Hospital, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Aberdeen, Glengarry, Mount Tolmie, the Priory, Gorge Road Hospital, Cairnsmore Place and Cowichan Lodge in Duncan and Tofino Hospital.

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