But following the CDC's instruction, they rounded up lab samples from the two patients and shipped them to Cornell University in New York for genetic fingerprinting, a way of identifying each bacterium's unique structure. But because of cost concerns, the department had a policy of only doing such tests after an outbreak had already been identified in the state. While the state waited for results from Cornell, the toll of victims was growing in Michigan. One woman was already dead. A MIchigan meat plant struggles with santiation.
Listeriosis outbreak begins in Tennessee, Ohio, New York and Connecticut.
Sara Lee starts damage control while the USDA still sits on the fence. A consumer hot line leaves callers cold. Enter the lawyers. Far from it. The government must put the public before the industry.