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MADRID (AP) — Health authorities in Spain are on high alert after a 90-year-old woman died amid a listeria outbreak in the southern region of Andalusia that has affected more than 110 people.
José Miguel Cisneros, director of the infectious disease department at Seville's Virgen del Rocío Hospital, on Tuesday announced the first casualty since the outbreak was declared on Aug. 15. Authorities have closed the pork meat supplier's plant and recalled all of its products.
Cisneros said roughly half of the 114 people affected by the bacteria remain hospitalized.
Health Minister María Luisa Carcedo said an investigation is looking into how the meat evaded what she called "strict food safety controls."
Listeria is a bacteria that usually causes mild illness in healthy people but can be dangerous to pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems.
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