Listeriosis outbreak in South Africa

Hi fam on the 4th of March 2018 the Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and The National Institute of Communicable Diseases(NICD) announced that the source of the present Listeriosis outbreak was at Enterprise facility in Polokwane. Listeria has been traced also at other Enterprise facilities in Germiston and the East Rand,and a Rainbow Chicken facility in the Free State.

Further tests will be conducted as the sequence type was not yet known.

Tiger Brands on behalf of its division Enterprise Foods has conducted their own tests and found a low detection of a Listeria strain in some products but the ST6 strain which is the outbreak strain was not confirmed by their test . They also said that they have sent their samples to an external laboratory to test for the strain itself and should receive the results on Monday 5 March. They have committed to recalling products that are identified with Listeriosis outbreak.

Below are the products identified with the Listeriosis outbreak: polony was a definite source,other products such as vienna,Russians,Frankfurters ,other sausages and cold meats not typically cooked could also be affected due to risk of cross contamination.

Pregnant women,children,the elderly and anyone with a weakened immune system should not consume these products.

Listeria is a bacterium that is naturally found in the environment. It commonly occurs in soil,water,vegetation and in the faeces of some animals. It can contaminate a wide variety of food types,including  meat and meat products,dairy products(unpasteurised and pasteurised),fresh and frozen produce(fruits,vegetables and sprouts) and ready to eat products.

The outbreak has claimed 180 lives and 948 laboratory-confirmed cases had been reported to the NICD.