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Listeria found in another workplace

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August 20th, 2014


This article is more than 10 years old.

Sandwich meat producer Delika shut down for 24 hours

Another sandwich meat producer has been hit by the listeria outbreak that has now claimed 13 lives in Denmark. The food product authorities Fødevarestyrelsen ordered the Delika plant near Hammel to close its doors – for 24 hours – so that cutting equipment and other equipment that came into contact with contaminated ‘rullepølse’ sandwich meat, which originated from Jørn A Rullepølser in Hedehusene near Copenhagen, can be thoroughly cleaned.

 “Delika Hammel wants to protect our customers and eliminate any possible risk,” the company said in a statement.

A wide range of Delika products were pulled from the shelves of shops last week. The meats were cut on machines that had been in contact with the infected products from Jørn A Rullepølser, and authorities feared cross-contamination could have occurred.

Another Dane was killed by the listeria outbreak yesterday, taking the death toll up to 13, while 24 people overall have been infected with the bacterium.

More cases expected
Fødevarestyrelsen expects that more cases will appear in the weeks to come.

The incubation time for listeriosis is between one and 70 days (usually seven to 21 days), and the long incubation times often make it difficult to locate the infection source.

READ MORE: Minister blasts food authorities over listeria handling

Zealand  has been hit hardest by the outbreak. The combined Zealand and Copenhagen regions account for half of the patients affected so far.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”