Outbreak of a food borne disease - Listeriosis in South Africa
A 3D illustration of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, which causes listeriosis.
Listeriosis is a serious, but treatable and preventable disease caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes and is widely distributed in nature and can be found in soil, water and vegetation.
Furthermore, animal products and fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables can be contaminated from these sources.
. Flu like illness with diarrhoea including fever, general body pains, vomiting and weakness.
. Infection of the blood stream which is called septiceamia.
. Meningoencephalitis (infection of the brain).
Individuals at high risk of developing severe disease include newborns, the elderly, pregnant women, persons with weak immunity such as HIV, diabetes, cancer, chronic liver or kidney disease.
According to the Department of Health, the age groups that are most affected are neonates, that means the first 28 days of life (37%) and the age group between 15 to 49 years (33%). It states that The two groups comprise 70 per cent of all cases.
In South Africa‚ the outbreak is spread across all nine provinces.
The 235 cases for which the NICD has “outcome data”‚ reveals the death rate to be an alarming 34%.
About 40% of those who have died were newborn babies‚ 96% of them less than a week old.
Pregnant women are 20 times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults.
High on the list of foods known to have caused other listeriosis outbreaks are ready-to-eat foods‚ which consumers don’t cook or heat before eating. Primarily these are deli meats like ham‚ polony‚ cooked chicken and the like.
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