THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said to date there have been 748 cases of listeria in South Africa with 50 cases reported in KwaZulu-Natal alone. News of the deadly disease Listeriosis, caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes broke late last year. The NICD confirmed more than 68 people have died.
They added that their response was to interview all people who have been diagnosed to understand what food they consumed and identify trends.
“We are working with the food safety and quality industry to obtain quality data from food control and to sample food production facilities. We have worked with infectious diseases physicians to draw up guidelines for diagnosing and treating the disease,” the NICD said.
Read also – Listeriosis: Extra caution required with newborns
What’s more the plan is to create an awareness on how to prevent listeriosis. “Presently no food sources that are contaminated with the outbreak strain have been found, including among poultry and poultry products,” they added.
Until the source of listeria is identified, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the ‘Five Keys to Safer Food’:
- Wash hands and surfaces before preparing food
- Wash hands before and after meals
- Separate raw and cooked food, and don’t mix utensils and surfaces when preparing food. Cook food thoroughly – all bacteria are killed above 70oC
- Keep food at safe temperatures – either simmering hot, or in the fridge
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