2008–2009 Chile listeriosis outbreak

The Public Health Institute (Instituto de Salud Pública, ISP) received less than fifty samples annually, while the Santiago Metropolitan Region averaged twenty-three cases between 2006 and 2007.

[2] During the first half of 2008, the number of cases studied by health centers and medical institutions in the Santiago Metropolitan Region quadrupled compared to previous years, with a particular increase in the disease in pregnant patients.

[15] In mid-April, the Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG) detected the presence of Listeria in products from a dairy company in Frutillar, Los Lagos Region;[16] however, no cases had been reported in that area until that date.

Two days later, the Jumbo supermarket chain detected that several of its own products, including longanizas, chorizos, meats and sausages, had the bacterium, and they were immediately withdrawn from sale to the public.

[22] However, the Minister of Health Alvaro Erazo stated that this was not a resurgence of the bacterium, since "there is no history that could be repeated or a type of consumption that points to any particular company and to any focus of contagion".

However, specialists recommended at the time to continue with food precautions regarding dairy products and beef jerky, since epidemic control was essential to keep the disease stable and avoid a resurgence.

[29] Also, since 2008, the local scientific literature on the disease has increased significantly in response to the surprising growth of listeriosis cases in private and public health centers.