Officials: Listeriosis in ice cream not cause of 3 deaths at Wichita hospital but is a factor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas health officials say a food-borne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products may have been a contributing factor in the deaths of three hospital patients.

But Sara Belfry, a Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman, said Saturday that listeriosis didn’t cause the deaths.

Belfry said the only detail she could provide about the patients at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in Wichita is that they were adults.

Hospital spokeswoman Maria Loving said she couldn’t discuss why the patients were hospitalized, citing patient confidentiality laws.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said five people developed listeriosis in Kansas after eating products from one production line at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas.

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Officials: Listeriosis in ice cream not cause of 3 deaths at Wichita hospital but is a factor."