( KRON ) — Two people have died and 23 more were hospitalized after eating queso fresco and cojita cheese products, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. Several products containing these cheeses have been recalled due to a Listeria outbreak. The hospitalizations date back to 2014, but an investigation into the outbreak was recently re-launched.
In total, 26 people have gotten sick in 11 states. Eight of those sick cases and one death were in California, the CDC said.
There may be more sick people related to this outbreak, as it typically takes 3-4 weeks to determine whether a sickness is part of an outbreak, per the CDC. The true number of people affected is believed to be higher than 26 due to people not getting tested for Listeria.
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The illnesses related to this outbreak started in 2014, according to the CDC. The CDC investigated the outbreak in 2017 and 2021 and re-launched it in January after new illnesses were reported in December 2023.