A lifelong lover of liverwurst, Sue Fleming used to relish the smoked sausage her husband brought home every few weeks from the grocery store deli.
He always made sure to buy her favorite, Boar’s Head braunschweiger, even though it was more expensive than other brands.
‘My whole family loves braunschweiger,’ she told reporters. ‘[It’s best] on bread with lettuce, a little mayo, a slice of pickle.’
But late last month, the 88-year-old from High Ridge, Missouri, fell ‘deathly ill’ after catching listeria food poisoning from the snack.
What followed was an agonizing nine days in the hospital where her family worried she could die and doctors warned she could develop sepsis, a deadly condition where organs begin to shut down.
Boar’s Head has now recalled more than 7million pounds of its deli meats amid the outbreak, which has sickened 43 people and led to at least three deaths in New Jersey, Illinois and Virginia.
Sue Fleming pictured at home with her husband Patrick following the injury
The couple have filed a lawsuit against Boar’s Head over the poisoning
Ms Fleming spent 11 days in a rehabilitation center after she become sick.
But the retired psychotherapist and author was too frail to walk for weeks and says she is now suffering from neurological issues.
She says her pre-existing health condition of severe spinal arthritis — causing pain in her back — has also worsened since the illness.
Her husband Patrick Fleming, 76, said: ‘I became very scared on Sue’s behalf and afraid of losing her.’
Ms Fleming said that doctors were also worried that the bacteria might spread to her brain while she was in the hospital.
After she became ill, the couple narrowed down the possible culprits to a pre-made tuna salad, chicken salad, pepperjack cheese — and the braunschweiger.
The couple filed a lawsuit on July 26 against Boar’s Head and Schnuck Markets Inc, which sold the deli meat, seeking more than $25,000 to cover medical and legal costs.
The company is also being sued in Minnesota by Ashley Solberg, who says poisoning from its food nearly led to her miscarrying her second child.
Ms Solberg was 36 weeks pregnant with her second child when she and her daughter went on vacation to Hollywood, Florida, where she bought Boar’s Head deli meats from a Publix grocery store.
After she returned home, however, Ms Solberg became severely ill and started to suffer from diarrhea, fever, chills, headaches and body aches.
She rushed to hospital where testing revealed she had contracted listeria, and she spent six days there being administered antibiotics.
Ms Solberg is seeking an amount ‘far greater than’ $75,000 for damages and to cover medical and legal costs.
And a class action lawsuit was filed in a federal court in New York against the company on August 1.
In the lawsuit, Rita Torres — from Queens County — alleges the company improperly and deceptively marketed its products. She says she would never have purchased them if the company had warned they were contaminated with listeria.
Fleming’s illness underscores the potential severity of listeria infections in vulnerable people, particularly the elderly
She had eaten a Boar’s Head liverwurst in the day’s before falling ill. This meat is now included in the multi-state recall for listeria contaminated products
The outbreak was detected after health officials in Maryland and New York revealed listeria lurking in unopened Boar’s Head liverwurst products. It was later confirmed to be the same strain of bacteria that was making people sick.
A recall was issued on July 25, and then expanded on July 30 to include more than 70 products made at its plant in Jarratt, Virginia.
It was not clear how the products became contaminated, but listeria can persist on surfaces and get onto slicing tools and countertops if these are not cleaned regularly — potentially leading to an outbreak.
For most people, food poisoning caused by listeria is an inconvenience that resolves after a few days of nausea and diarrhea.
But pregnant women, older adults and those with an underlying condition are more at risk of suffering from serious disease.
For pregnant women, the CDC estimates they are ten times more likely to fall ill with listeria compared to the general population.
Doctors say that in serious cases the bacteria can leave the gut and enter the blood stream, raising the risk that it could cause sepsis — which can be life-threatening.
About 1,600 people are sickened by listeria in the US every year and about 260 die from the infections, according to the CDC.
Boar’s Head urges consumers to throw away the recalled products or return them to the store or a refund.
Its deli meats affected by the recall should now already be off the shelves and consumers are encouraged to ask deli managers whether they have complied with the recall and also sanitized their deli slicers.
Heating deli meat to steaming, or 165F, can also kill the bacteria — experts say.
