Ice cream-linked listeria outbreak case counts grow

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As of Tuesday, a total of 10 people in four states have fallen ill with listeriosis linked to Blue Bell Creameries, an ice cream maker based in Texas. Previously, the case count sat at eight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additionally, Blue Bell Creameries has voluntarily recalled all of its products currently on the market made at all of its facilities. The ice cream producer previously had recalled a limited number of its products and closed one factory in Oklahoma.

The outbreak started in March when five patients at a hospital in Kansas fell ill with listeriosis. Three of those patients later died. Other people who have fallen ill with listeriosis are in Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas.

The CDC calls this a "complex and ongoing multistate outbreak" and notes that "information indicates that various Blue Bell brand products are the source of this outbreak."

Listeriosis is an infection caused by consuming food contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes germ.

Find more information on listeria and the current outbreak here.

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