Two residents of a retirement home in western Ottawa have died in a Listeria outbreak.
Ottawa Public Health said Wednesday morning that it is aware of four cases of confirmed residents in City View Retirement Community on Meadowlands Drive. Two of these cases have been fatal. There are no staff cases.
Ottawa Public Health is investigating the outbreak along with Public Health Ontario and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, OPH said in a statement.
Listeria is a bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious infection. People often get sick after eating contaminated food. The disease usually affects pregnant women, newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
In a statement, City View management said the outbreak began in early May and that they have been working closely with public health officials to determine the origin of the listeria.
“Despite a month of investigation into the outbreak of Ottawa Public Health, the source has not been revealed to us or no known source has been identified,” the statement said. “We buy our food through reliable suppliers and require staff to follow all food storage and handling procedures.”
“Our hearts go out to residents and families, and we hope that the last reported case in mid-May will be the last and that the outbreak will be resolved.”
High-risk foods, such as cold cuts and ready-made cheeses, have not been served at home since May 4, public health officials said.
Since that date, OPH has conducted 10 site visits, “including several food safety compliance inspections and follow-up inspections, and at least one audit of critical hazard analysis checkpoints,” the statement said.
Food samples and environmental samples have been sent to the Ontario Public Health Laboratories to determine the cause of the outbreak. PHOL requires about a week to provide the initial results and two weeks for the final results, OPH said.
CTV News has contacted Trivada, the owners of the retirement home, to comment.