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Rockmelon listeria outbreak: How to reduce your risk of infection

ABC Health & Wellbeing By health reporter Olivia Willis
Posted 19 March 2018 at 2:17 pm

There have been a number of cases of food poisoning linked to rockmelons. (Pixabay)

Last week, health authorities confirmed a fifth person had died and a woman had miscarried as a result of
a listeria outbreak linked to contaminated rockmelons.

The deadly outbreak, which has been traced to a rockmelon farm in southern New South Wales, has affected
at least 19 people in four states.

NSW authorities have withdrawn the affected melons from sale and distribution, so you can be assured
rockmelons on the shelf are now safe to eat.

But since symptoms can take between eight and 90 days to appear, it is possible more people will be diagnosed
with listeria infection.
It is relatively uncommon, and usually causes few or no symptoms in healthy people. But it can be very
dangerous in unborn and newborn children, older people and people with a weakened immune system.

So here are some things to keep in mind if you've eaten rockmelon this year.

Listeria rare but can be fatal

Victorian man becomes fifth
Listeria is an illness usually caused by eating foods
contaminated by the bacteria, listeria person to die in outbreak
monocytogenes.

"Listeria is found right throughout the environment.

It can be in soil, in water, on people's hands, and can
turn up in food," said Lydia Buchtmann from the
Food Safety Information Council.

For healthy people, listeria infection (also known as

listeriosis) usually causes only mild illness.

But it can be very dangerous for pregnant women, A Victorian man in his 80s has become the fifth
their unborn babies, older people (persons over 65- person to die in a listeria outbreak after eating
70 years) and people with compromised immune contaminated rockmelons.
systems.

"That includes people with diabetes, people

recovering from cancer, organ transplant recipients and people on medications like cortisone," Ms Buchtmann
said.

It starts with flu-like symptoms

Listeriosis tends to start with flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, and sometimes
diarrhoea.

Symptoms of infection in pregnant women may be mild and include a temperature before or during birth.

"It seems mild at first but it is quite serious. The infection can cross through the placenta to the baby, and that's
why it's so dangerous," Ms Buchtmann said.

On very rare occasions, the illness can become more serious and develop into meningitis or septicaemia.

While you can treat listeria with antibiotics, it's best to avoid it. People at risk of listeria infection should avoid
high-risk foods.

How does it get into foods?

Because listeria bacteria live in so many places, there are a number of ways for contamination to occur. The
bacteria may be present in raw foods or contaminate food after it has been cooked or processed.

The NSW Food Authority is still working to determine the exact cause of the rockmelon outbreak, but Ms
Buchtmann said it could have occurred at any stage of the farm-to-shelf process.

"Melons are grown in the ground so they may touch soil that is contaminated with listeria," she said.
"It can also be transferred by irrigation water, it can
be in the processing plants [where] the fruit is
washed, or it can be just in people's fingers who are
touching it."

Listeria is easily killed by heat, although cooked

foods can easily become re-contaminated through
poor food handling after cooking.

"Listeria is one of the very few pathogens that will

grow under refrigeration. It slows its growth, but it
Rombola Family Farms has been identified as the
can still grow," Ms Buchtmann said. source of the deadly listeria outbreak. (Supplied:
Youtube)
Storing contaminated foods, even in the refrigerator,
may allow the listeria bacteria to grow.

Foods to avoid for people at risk

For people who are pregnant, over 70, or have a weakened immune system, the best way to avoid listeria
infection is to eat freshly cooked food, and well-washed, freshly prepared fruit and vegetables.

According to the Food Safety Information Council, people in high-risk groups should avoid foods which have a
higher risk of listeria contamination, including:

cold meats from delicatessen counters and sandwich bars, and packaged, sliced, ready-to-eat meats
cold, cooked, ready-to-eat chicken (whole, portions or diced)
pre-prepared or pre-packaged fruit or vegetable salads, including those from buffets and salad bars
chilled seafood such as raw oysters, sashimi and sushi, smoked, ready-to-eat seafood such as smoked salmon
and cooked, ready-to-eat prawns
soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheeses such as brie, camembert, ricotta, blue and feta
refrigerated pâté or meat spreads
soft-serve ice cream
unpasteurised dairy products
sprouted seeds/bean sprouts

You can further reduce your risk by practicing good food safety, such as avoiding foods that are past their 'best
before' or 'use by' date, refrigerating leftovers promptly, and cooking and reheating foods thoroughly.

The Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website states: "If you plan to eat previously cooked and
refrigerated leftovers, only keep them in the refrigerator for a day and reheat them thoroughly to steaming hot.
This will kill listeria bacteria."

It's also important to wash your hands before preparing food, and to wash knives, cutting boards and kitchen
appliances after they've touched raw food — to prevent contamination of cooked and ready-to-eat foods.

If you are in a high-risk group, have eaten rockmelon earlier this year, and are not feeling well, it's a good idea to
see your GP, Ms Buchtmann said.

"For the rest of the population, listeria is not normally a problem," she said.
"If you have gastro and it does persist more than a couple of days, do go and see your doctor."

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