MADRID (Reuters) - A 90-year-old Spanish woman died on Tuesday, 56 people have been hospitalized and dozens more taken ill in what is believed to be the biggest outbreak of listeriosis recorded in Spain, the health minister said.

A nationwide alert was sent out after listeria, the bacteria behind the infection, was suspected in a brand of packaged pork manufactured by Seville-based Magrudis, acting Health Minister Maria Luisa Carcedo told Cadena Ser radio.

“We are monitoring this, the alerts have been sent out and we’ve ordered that all products (that have come) from this factory since May be pulled from shelves,” she said.

Most of the 114 cases have occurred in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, but other potential cases have turned up across the country, from Madrid to the island of Tenerife.

Of those affected in Andalusia, 53 remain in hospital, including 18 pregnant women and two newborn babies, regional health authorities said.

The company behind the packaged pork brand linked to the outbreak did not immediately reply to a request for comment. </s> FILE – In this April 30, 2019 file photo, Philippine Health Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque III displays a graph showing the decline of the measles outbreak in the country during a press conference during World Immunization Week 2019 in Manila, Philippines. The Philippines’ Department of Health has declared the country’s massive outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic on Tuesday Aug. 6, 2019. An announcement from the agency says Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration in order to improve responses to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ Department of Health on Tuesday declared the country’s outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic.

The agency said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration to improve the response to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund.

It said the Philippines recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January through July 20 this year, 98% more than the same period in 2018. It said the outbreak caused 622 deaths.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure in severe cases. While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person’s fluid levels is seen as critical.

The Department of Health said that starting Tuesday, it was conducting a campaign to focus on finding and destroying mosquito breeding sites, which is a primary means of containing dengue. Other government agencies, local government units, schools, offices and communities will join in the effort, it said.

Other Southeast Asian countries have also reported an upsurge in dengue cases this year, according to the U.N.’s World Health Organization. The organization said Malaysia had registered 62,421 cases through June 29, including 93 deaths, compared to 32,425 cases with 53 deaths for the same period last year. Vietnam over the same period had 81,132 cases with four deaths reported, compared to 26,201 cases including six deaths in 2018.

In South Asia, Bangladesh has been facing its worst-ever dengue fever outbreak, putting a severe strain on the country’s already overwhelmed medical system.
The Ministry of Health of Peru reports that so far this year, 548 people have contracted Guillain–Barré syndrome in an outbreak in the country. It also clarified that in the five cases in which patients died, death was caused by complications with other serious diseases.