A deadly unheard of the listeria outbreak, which has been found to have links to the enoki mushrooms which originate in Korea, has already killed four people and sickened 36 people across 17 states, which is a surprising number given a short span of time! This outbreak took everyone by surprise and should be given proper attention before it spreads and causes even more damage like the coronavirus or Covid-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is leading the investigation

A food safety alert was given on Tuesday, Mar. 10, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement that pointed out that the investigation is that the multi-state listeria outbreak has a high risk of infections. The outbreak is said to be fatal for people with a weakened immune system like the sickly, the old, and even the pregnant!

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Although it might be too early to panic, there are already certain precautionary measures being taken, and this outbreak is being treated as a serious matter because of its fatality. The outbreak has already reached 17 states, which means its infection rate might already be quite high as well.

The origin of the listeria outbreak

An alert was sounded about a day right after Montebello, a California-based Sun Hong Foods, Inc. decided to recall all of its enoki mushrooms that originated from Korea after a given warning from the Department of Agriculture and also Rural Development of the possible outbreak.

The Food and Drug Administration was able to find samples of Listeria monocytogents in the enoki mushrooms, which was already an alarming discovery because these mushrooms already had their spread around a couple of states!

Does the listeria outbreak come from enoki mushrooms?

The looks of enoki mushrooms can be described as white and long stems with small caps--these are usually sold in clusters and are quite popular with East Asian cuisine. Many other dishes include enoki as both the main ingredient, garnishing, and also for flavor enhancement. 

This mushroom is already a popular dish for most recipes, either being cooked at home or maybe even served at restaurants, which puts citizens at risk of infection anywhere they go that these mushrooms are being served.

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The mushroom comes in many names known as enokitake, futu, golden needle, and even lily mushrooms. These names are being given by the FDA for civilians to be able to determine which mushrooms to stay away from.

The casualty of this virus

In a list given by the CDC, the effects have been silent but have already existed for a while. The illness has already been around and there have been about 30 hospitalizations along with six pregnancy-associated cases.

California has already had about nine cases, while New York experienced four. Hawaii and Virginia also had their share of three cases, while Maryland, Florida, Arizona, and Massachusetts had two different cases each. The outbreak already has one each in the state of Kentucky, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

So far, the outbreak has not reached the level of tenacity as the coronavirus or Covid-19, but it still pays to be careful.

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