History is made when Ebola-like death rates come with a foodborne illness

As the death rate rose in the Boar’s Head listeria outbreak, one could not help but wonder if this might top the 2008 Maple Leaf listeria outbreak.  

The case fatality rate (CFR) for that infamous Canadian outbreak was 38.59 percent, just a tad below the 40 percent death rate for Ebola. The often fatal Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) are viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses.

The case facility rate for Boar’s Head stands at 16.94 percent. That’s not in the Ebola range but still very high compared to something like the seasonal flu, which has a CFR of 0.1 to 0.2 percent.

High death rates are why the 2008 Maple Leaf listeria outbreak and the still open investigation of Boar’s Head Deli meats will be compared in the days ahead.

Maple Leaf and Boar’s Head are major brands in their countries, but this does not prevent their governments from investigating them significantly.

Maple Leak had as many as 220 products contaminated in the outbreak at its Bartor Road facility. In Toronto. Its recall reportedly cost the company $20 million.

The listeria outbreak 16 years ago in Canada and the current situation with Boar’s Head were enough to bring on special investigations.

Currently, the USDA Inspector General is conducting an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of problems at a Boar’s Head production plant linked to the deadly Listeria outbreak.

Inspector General Phyllis Fong is reviewing the actions of Virginia state inspectors whom USDA had contracted to determine whether they responded appropriately to dozens of reports of problems at the production plant.  The problems violated food safety regulations and posed an imminent danger to public health. Records show the problems dated back at least two years.

Canada had a stepped-up inquiry known as “The Weatherill report.” It was the work of Sheila Weatherill, the independent investigator of the August 2008 listeriosis outbreak.

While the U.S. Justice Department isn’t talking, Boar’s Head is likely the subject of a criminal investigation. Maple Leaf was not subject to any criminal action. It did fend off four lawsuits for $350 million in damages but settled all the pending litigation for $27 million in December 2008.

Boar’s Head closed its Jarrett, VA, production plant that was implicated in the outbreak and permanently discontinued production of liverwurst nationwide. 

The privately held company is owned by the Brunckhorst and Bischoff families and is based in Sarasota, FL.

The food safety problems date back at least two years, and USDA did not shut down the plant after those problems were found.

Canada’s investigation acknowledged just how difficult listeria can be. It noted:

“Listeriosis, itself, can be hard to detect. The first symptoms of the illness appear between three to 70 days after contaminated food is eaten and, even then, are initially difficult to distinguish from the flu. 

“It is often only when people become seriously ill that lab tests are conducted, a positive result confirming that an individual has the disease. Unlike TV dramas, in which scientific testing produces nearly instantaneous results, it takes several days before bacteria DNA fingerprint results are available.”

“In retrospect, it is easy to see the mix of variables that created the conditions enabling listeriosis to take hold. Listeria defeated the best efforts of all those trying to prevent it from entering the food supply, including workers attempting to control it in the Maple Leaf Foods Bartor Road plant. It also evaded the oversight systems of both Maple Leaf Foods and the federal government (Canadian Food Inspection Agency). As a result, a segment of the most vulnerable population was exposed to its damaging and sometimes deadly effects.”

The Maple Leaf outbreak occurred as Canada’s federal government discussed whether to privatize the county’s food inspections. Nobody has mentioned it since. But the Maple Leaf outbreak was a hot political topic for a time in Canada. No more so than when then-Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said, “This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts?”

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