Listeriosis found on dairy farm and in two shops near Ladysmith
Six people have already been affected by the disease in the Ladysmith area, with one confirmed death.
Listeriosis has hit Ladysmith, with a dairy farm and two shops testing positive for the disease in the Ladysmith area.
Uthukela District Health Services received their test results on Tuesday (March 13) from the dairy farms and shops that were tested for listeriosis.
READ MORE: Eight new listeriosis cases recorded in one week
The results came back positive for a dairy farm in Winterton, as well as two shops selling milk, one in Colenso and the other in Bergville.
Uthukela District Health Services are currently investigating the matter, and are monitoring stores to ensure that relevant products have been removed.
The shops have been closed until they test negative for listeriosis, and the dairy farm has also been closed so that they can clean out their systems and get rid of the contaminated milk in the correct manner.
The systems on the dairy farm also have to be disinfected and after that, further tests will be done until they come back negative for the disease. Only then will the farm be opened.
Six people have already been affected by the disease in the Ladysmith area, with 1 confirmed death.
Speaking to Uthukela District Health Services, they say that two people contracted listeriosis in November and another two people in December.
They also say that one person cannot be located, as the wrong address was given to them. Those who fell ill with listeriosis have been in hospital, and are currently okay.
Uthukela District Health Services are not releasing the name of the dairy farm nor the two shops, but they urge people not to drink any unpasteurised milk and avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready-to-eat.
Pregnant women, newborn babies under the age of 28 days and people over the age of 65 need to be careful, as listeriosis can be easily contracted by them. According to Uthukela District Health Services, 60% of the deaths in South Africa are babies under the age of 28 days.
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