Listeria death toll passes 200, according to latest statistics
The death toll from the world’s worst listeria outbreak in SA has risen to more than 200, according to latest official statistics seen on Thursday. The UN said SA’s listeriosis outbreak is believed to be the worst worldwide. Since January 2017, at least 204 people are now known to have died from listeria, up from 183 reported two months ago, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported this week. While the number of cases diagnosed each week has decreased, a total of 1,033 people have contracted listeriosis — a disease caused by bacteria from soil, water, vegetation and animal faeces which can contaminate fresh food, notably meat. Health officials announced in March that they had traced the outbreak to an Enterprise Food plant in Polokwane and immediately ordered a nationwide recall of the affected products. In a statement on Thursday, the government said “since identification of the source of the outbreak and recall of implicated products, the number of cases of lister...
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