[TOP STORY] Health Minister declares Listeriosis outbreak officially over
Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed the outbreak of Listeriosis in South Africa in December 2017.
POLOKWANE – Briefing the media at a press conference earlier today, Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi announced that the Listeriosis outbreak is over in South Africa.
Listeriosis, a serious, but treatable and preventable disease is caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes.
At the time, Motsoaledi said the department believed the outbreak’s most likely possible source was contamination of food at its origin e.g. farms and agriculture as well as food processing plants.
The outbreak was then traced to the Enterprise Factory in Polokwane in March and ready to eat processed foods were pulled off the shelves across the country.
Read more: BREAKING NEWS: Listeriosis outbreak traced to Enterprise Factory in Polokwane
At his press briefing today, Motsoaledi said no new cases had been reported in the past three months and that it was now safe to eat meat products.
Read more: Listeriosis leaves local shelves empty following outbreak
He added that the department would continue to monitor the outbreak but urged people to continue taking safety measures.
This means that all foods that have processed meats can be eaten. The Minister urges communities to do the followings: pic.twitter.com/lsIWmduXsz
— National Department of Health (@HealthZA) September 3, 2018
Motsoaledo also said that despite concerted efforts and investigations into the matter, no one can pinpoint where the Listeriosis came from.
To date, R12 million was spent during the response period to deal with the #Listeriosis outbreak.
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) September 3, 2018
He also added that Enterprise will announce their readiness for production soon.
