Food Poisoning from Listeria? -- Should I worry?

[Angel_of_the_Lord]

So Armour recalled a bunch of Cracker Crunchers (read as: Low Cost Lunchables). Apparently, they might be contaminated with Listeria.

I had one of these recently–without knowing about the recall–and was violently ill about 12 hours later. I couldn’t keep anything down, had a hell of a fever, and just basically felt like crap. Right at about the point where I was considering going in to urgent care, the fever broke and I was able to keep things down. Less than a week afterwards, my husband had one of these, and was ill twelve hours later. It’s been a few days, and he’s still feeling queasy.

My question–could it be the Listeria? If it was the Listeria, is there any danger from Listeriosis, or did I just barf it all up? And where can I get in line to bitchslap Armour and the local media, since the recall was made before my husband got sick, but not publicized until after?

[Smeghead]

I refer to you the CDC’s page. Obviously, the only one who can tell you if you’re infected is your doctor.

Some relevant quotes:

What should you do if you’ve eaten a food recalled because of Listeria contamination?

The risk of an individual person developing Listeria infection after consumption of a contaminated product is very small. If you have eaten a contaminated product and do not have any symptoms, we do not recommend that you have any tests or treatment, even if you are in a high-risk group. However, if you are in a high-risk group, have eaten the contaminated product, and within 2 months become ill with fever or signs of serious illness, you should contact your physician and inform him or her about this exposure.

What are the symptoms of listeriosis?

A person with listeriosis has fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrintestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur.

Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness; however, infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarraige or stillbirth, premature delivery, or infection of the newborn.

[Beadalin]

I wouldn’t worry about it. Listeria is dangerous to fetuses, and to a tiny, tiny number of adults/children. But there are lots of foods that contain listeria that you probably eat anyway: most soft cheeses (brie, gorgonzola and the like), lunch meats and hot dogs.