N.C. stillbirths tied to tainted food

Two North Carolina women, including one in Durham County, suffered stillbirths and a third delivered prematurely after consuming foods tainted with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, state public health officials said today.

The three cases, which included a stillbirth in Mecklenberg County and a premature birth in Moore County, are considered unrelated, according to the N.C. Division of Public Health.

The infections are thought to be linked to soft, unpasteurized cheeses popular in Hispanic cuisine. All three women are Hispanic.

Another pregnant woman in Buncombe County lost her baby to what public health officials suspect is a fourth case of listeriosis. The ethnicity of that woman is unknown.

Joe Reardon, director of the state's Food and Drug Protection Division, said members of his staff worked all day Saturday and Sunday testing cheese products sold in stores near the areas where women became ill. But they have not yet identified any sources of contamination.

Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, muscle aches and, often, diarrhea and vomiting. Pregnant women, whose immune symptoms are weakened, usually suffer only mild, flu-like illness.

However, the bug is easily passed via the placenta to the fetus, which is highly vulnerable to the bacterium.

State health officials are cautioning pregnant women against consumption of soft cheeses, hot dogs, deli-style meats and prepared salads, often associated with listeriosis.