Packed salads infested with Listeria, made at a Dole processing facility in Ohio, killed a person and hospitalized almost 15 people since July in many parts of the United States. Listeria is the bacterium that causes listeriosis, an infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract.

This infection can cause temporary problems such as high fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea, headaches, stiffness and nausea and can cause death if gets serious. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has ceased the Dole facility last week and voluntarily recalled all salad mixes.

The most recent case of Listeria was diagnosed on January 3. Three people from Connecticut, Missouri and New York are added to list of sick people, who got ill after eating salads such as salads sold under the names Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President's Choice, which were linked to the listeria outbreak by CDC.

The source of the infections remained unknown till this month when listeria was found in salads collected from the Ohio facility. The disease has spread in many other states such as Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The most cases: five, are reported in New York. The person who died was from Michigan, where four more people were found sick due to the disease. According to the CDC, there are 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths per year due to Listeria infections in the US.

Dole confirmed to the CDC last week that it has stopped all production at the Springfield facility and is recalling back all the supplies of packed salads made to markets from that facility. So far, there is no evidence that packed salads made at other facilities are contaminated with the virus.