FREDERICTON - Health officials are investigating the death of an elderly New Brunswick woman who had listeriosis.
Dr. Eilish Cleary, New Brunswick's acting chief medical officer of health, said Monday the woman died recently in hospital after she became ill in a nursing home.
Cleary said it's too early to say whether the woman, who was in her early 80s, died of listeriosis or whether the strain of the bacteria she had matches the strain involved in the national outbreak.
"She was an elderly lady with other health concerns," Cleary said at a news conference in Fredericton.
Cleary said it will take seven to 10 days of testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg to find out whether there is a link between the national outbreak and the woman's death.
"The bacteria can be linked to a specific pattern," she said.
Cleary said New Brunswick typically has two to three cases of listeriosis every year, but this is the first and only case in the province since Maple Leaf Foods (TSX:MFI) began a massive recall of deli meats due to fears of contamination.
Across the country, there has been a total of 13 deaths in which listeriosis has been found to be a contributing or underlying cause.
A Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto, where the listeria bacterium was found embedded deep inside slicing equipment, has been closed since Aug. 20.
The New Brunswick case is the second confirmed case of listeriosis in Atlantic Canada.
Health officials in Prince Edward Island are awaiting test results from the Winnipeg laboratory on a man hospitalized with listeriosis earlier this month.
The man, who is in stable condition, exhibited the classic signs of listeriosis infection -- fever, nausea, diarrhea and a stiff neck -- when he was admitted to a Charlottetown hospital.
As in New Brunswick, officials do not yet know whether the P.E.I. case is linked to the national outbreak.
New Brunswick officials said they have no idea what the source was of the listeria infection that affected the elderly woman.
In addition to deli meats, cheese products from Quebec also have been found contaminated with the bacteria.
Cleary would not say whether the woman was from northern New Brunswick, near Quebec.
The Quebec government, concerned about the rising number of listeriosis cases in that province, has widened its recall of cheese products and ordered an additional eight cheeses pulled from store shelves.
The move brings the total number of products recalled in Quebec to 11. Three other cheeses were ordered off shelves last week.
There has been one confirmed death from listeriosis in Quebec and 14 people made ill. Health officials are awaiting confirmation on nine other cases.
All the cases are related to listeria in Quebec cheese products.
Listeriosis is a disease caused by the bacteria listeria monocytogenes, commonly referred to as listeria.
Listeriosis is of concern particularly to the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and to persons with poor immune systems. Illness from listeria usually occurs from two to 30 days after consuming food contaminated with the bacteria, but can occur up to 90 days later.
