Listeriosis claims more lives

The senior, who died at Kelowna General Hospital, had an underlying chronic health condition that was being treated with oral steroid medication, which can increase the risk of this type of infection, authority spokesman Dr. Rob Parker said.  The woman had been in the community and was not a resident or in-patient at any Interior Health facility, but consumed deli meats while travelling this summer, the health authority said.

"It was a one-time purchase in Alberta … before the recall," Parker said.

If the Maple Leaf link is confirmed, the death would be the second in British Columbia tied to the outbreak that has swept the country in recent months. The first was confirmed on Aug. 29.

A woman in her early 80s, who was a nursing home resident and who had listeriosis, died in a New Brunswick hospital, officials said.  Dr. Eilish Cleary, New Brunswick's acting chief medical officer of health, said the woman died recently after she became ill in the nursing home where she lived.

It is the first case to be confirmed in the province since Maple Leaf Foods issued a recall of virtually all the products produced at a Toronto plant after a deadly listeria outbreak. Officials have identified 13 deaths directly linked to listeria found in meat from the Maple Leaf plant.