At lunchtime on Friday, about ten patients with suspected listeria infection were being treated in Stockholm. The number has decreased since Thursday and most of those seeking care do not need to be hospitalized.
In total, about 130 people have sought care at one of the region's emergency departments.
"Yesterday and today, the number of new applicants has decreased significantly, but a few people with symptoms are coming in," says Maria Rotzén Östlund, infectious disease doctor in Region Stockholm, in a press release.
Traceability includes 450 people who visited the restaurant between September 23-27. They have been contacted and urged to seek care if they experience symptoms.
Receiving reports
On Friday morning, about 100 reports of suspected stomach symptoms had been received by the environmental administration in Stockholm from guests who visited the luxury restaurant.
We continue to receive reports, we have over 100 now and it seems that it will continue to come in. We are still waiting for test results, says Lovisa Grimsell, press spokesperson for the environmental administration in the City of Stockholm.
What is behind the outbreak is unknown. According to Lovisa Grimsell, the samples were sent in on Wednesday and are expected to take three to seven days to analyze.
FHM to analyze
About ten people in Uppsala, as well as several in Örebro, Kronoberg, and Västra Götaland, have also needed to seek care.
On Thursday, the Public Health Agency announced that it had been connected to coordinate between regions. The agency will also analyze whether the bacteria found in the outbreak are of the same strain.
Larger listeria outbreaks in Sweden are rare, but have previously been linked to the production of a particular food, for example, a cold-cut product that has been contaminated and then sold across the country.
That's what's a bit special about this outbreak and a bit worrying, that so many individuals have fallen ill in a short time, says acting state epidemiologist Erik Sturegård.
He emphasizes that it is important to get to the bottom of where the infection comes from.
Generally, in all food outbreaks, it is very important to try to find the source of infection, so that you avoid getting new cases. If there is contaminated or infected food somewhere, there is a risk until it has been destroyed.
According to the Public Health Agency, listeria outbreaks are relatively rare. In cases where it does occur, it usually involves sporadic cases.
In 1994-1995, the first outbreak was reported, which was linked to salmon. Six of the nine cases could then be linked to gravlax that had been stored in the refrigerator.
In 2013-2014, a larger outbreak was discovered with a total of 49 cases spread across the country, where meat products are believed to have been the cause.
In 2015-2018, an outbreak occurred in Europe where a total of 47 people in five countries became ill, including seven in Sweden. Corn and other frozen vegetables produced at the same facility were behind it.
In 2022-2023, 19 cases were reported in Sweden. The outbreak was attributed to vacuum-packed salmon products and later also to different batches of Norwegian salmon raw material.
Source: Public Health Agency
