Three dead after eating ice cream from listeria-contaminated machines

Three people have died and six others have been hospitalised after eating ice cream from Listeria-contaminated machines in Tacoma, Washington.

The outbreak has been linked to ice cream machines that were not cleaned properly at a Frugals restaurant in Tacoma, according to the Washington Department of Health.

The health agency released a statement on 18 August, noting that while the restaurant stopped using the machines on 8 August, “Listeria can sicken people up to 70 days later”.

While most people who eat food contaminated with Listeria will not get seriously sick, immunocompromised individuals as well as those who are pregnant or aged 65 or older “should call their health care provider if they ate a Frugals’ Tacoma milkshake between May 29 and Aug. 7, 2023”, the statement added.

No other Frugals restaurants have been affected by the outbreak, according to the state’s department of health.

Genetic fingerprinting of the bacteria in the milkshakes has indicated that it is the same Listeria strain which led to six people being hospitalised between 27 February and 22 July, the health agency said.

Three of the six people infected during that time period also died.

All six “had conditions that made their immune systems less able to fight disease,” the agency said. The hospital patients were between the ages of 40 and 70.

According to the Center for Disease Control, an estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die from it. The infection is usually caused by eating contaminated food.

The Washington Department of Health also said that listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics.

Pregnant women are 10 times more likely to be infected by Listeria, while pregnant Hispanic women are 24 times more likely, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, more than half of all Listeria infections occur in people 65 and older.

The invasive illness aspect of the infection – after the bacteria spreads beyond one’s intestines – can be treated with antibiotics, the CDC explained.

In a statement posted on social media, Frugals said that it “has and will continue to fully cooperate with and support this ongoing investigation.”

The restaurant chain added that it has followed Pierce County Health Department’s (PCHD) recommendations, like halting all milkshake sales at its Tacoma location.

The company said that “out of an abundance of caution,” the milkshake machines at other locations have also been suspended and sent out for testing.

It added that PCHD is “confident that this contamination is isolated” to the Tacoma milkshake machine.

The Independent has reached out to Frugals for comment.