An Okanagan woman died late last week of listeriosis, the regional health authority reported Monday.
Testing will be carried out this week at the BC Centre for Disease Control's provincial laboratory to determine whether the listeria strain involved is the one associated with the Canada-wide recall of certain Maple Leaf Food deli-meat products, Interior Health said in a news release.
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.
Another listeriosis death was confirmed in New Brunswick on Monday, which officials suspect may have been linked to the Maple Leaf listeria strain.
To date, 13 deaths across the country have been directly linked to the strain of Listeria monocytogenes from a Maple Leaf plant in Toronto responsible for the recent Canadian outbreak.
Symptoms of listeriosis — which include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea — can occur up to 70 days after consuming contaminated food, though the average incubation period is 30 days.
