A deadly outbreak linked to tainted food in South Africa is now threatening other African nations, with neighbouring Namibia reporting a confirmed case that might be connected, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.



In a statement, WHO said it has reached out to 16 countries to help with preparedness and response to the listeriosis outbreak that has killed nearly 200 people since January 2017. South Africa's health minister has said there have been 950 cases in all.



Contaminated meat products may have been exported to two West African countries and a dozen southern African ones, the U.N. health agency said. The countries include Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation.



A South African factory has been identified as the outbreak's source.



Despite an international recall of the products, further cases are likely because of listeriosis' potentially long incubation period, WHO said.



"This outbreak is a wake-up call for countries in the region to strengthen their national food safety and disease surveillance systems," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director for Africa.



The 16 countries are Angola, Botswana, Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.</s>The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday warned Nigeria and 15 other African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017, confirming its support for their preparedness and response to the disease.

The other African countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes.

It can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death.

Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food products

According to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community.

South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, in the country’s northeast.

This prompted a national and international recall of the food products.

However, in light of the potentially long incubation period of listeriosis and the challenges relating to large scale nationwide recall processes, further cases are likely to occur.

Whole genome sequencing of isolated strains of the Listeria bacteria was used to make the link between the contaminated products, the producing company and strains of Listeria isolated from the patients.

The WHO is currently supporting further genome sequencing to determine which cases are linked to this on-going outbreak.

In March, South Africa hosted a meeting of SADC health ministers to address regional preparedness and response to listeriosis.

The ministers committed to regional collaboration, exchanging information and strengthening national food safety systems in line with international standards.

The WHO, however, does not currently recommend any trade related measures in relation to the current outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa, other than the recall of products identified as sources of infection.

The UN health agency is working with the 16 priority countries to improve their ability to prepare for, detect and respond to potential outbreaks.

Immediate steps include increasing awareness on listeriosis, enhancing active surveillance and laboratory diagnosis, ensuring readiness of Rapid Response Teams, and strengthening coordination and contingency planning. Experts have been deployed to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland to support these efforts.

“This outbreak is a wake-up call for countries in the region to strengthen their national food safety and disease surveillance systems,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.</s>Remembering Nurse Justina Ejelonu Who Died During The Ebola Outbreak (Photos) / Gonorrhoea Is Becoming Untreatable, WHO Warns / Bleaching: Nigeria Tops List Of African Countries Whose Women Bleach Their Skin (1) (2) (3) (4)





World Health Organisation on Wednesday warned Nigeria and 15 other African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017, confirming its support for their preparedness and response to the disease. The other African countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.



Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes. It can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death. Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food products



According to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community. South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, in the country’s northeast prompting a global recall of the food products.



http://thenationonlineng.net/warns-nigeria-15-others-listeriosis-outbreak/ World Health Organisation on Wednesday warned Nigeria and 15 other African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017, confirming its support for their preparedness and response to the disease. The other African countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes. It can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death. Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food productsAccording to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community. South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, in the country’s northeast prompting a global recall of the food products.

you have a phone and good internet, learn to use it wisely. No allow anybody to dey tell you rubbish. It's people like you that eat words hook line and sinker. No offence you have a phone and good internet, learn to use it wisely. No allow anybody to dey tell you rubbish. It's people like you that eat words hook line and sinker. No offence

Gangster1ms:

� 



World Health Organisation on Wednesday warned Nigeria and 15 other African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017, confirming its support for their preparedness and response to the disease. The other African countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.



Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes. It can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death. Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food products



According to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community. South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, in the country’s northeast prompting a global recall of the food products.



http://thenationonlineng.net/warns-nigeria-15-others-listeriosis-outbreak/



 

Stop eating shawarma or anything that has beef filling in them Stop eating shawarma or anything that has beef filling in them

free2ryhme:





Stop eating shawarma or anything that has beef filling in them 

its not shawarma. its from processed meat products like ham, polony, hotdogs, burger patties, etc. We rarely eat them in Nigeria. The people who should be careful the most are people who feed on restaurant food. its not shawarma. its from processed meat products like ham, polony, hotdogs, burger patties, etc. We rarely eat them in Nigeria. The people who should be careful the most are people who feed on restaurant food.

free2ryhme:





Shawarma has sausage inside 



Can't you reason like normal person 

This is why some of you are so close-minded. hasty to jump into discussions you know nothing about.

Not every shawarma has sausage in it Oga. if you need to be enlightened just ask. simple. Oversabi This is why some of you are so close-minded. hasty to jump into discussions you know nothing about.Not every shawarma has sausage in it Oga. if you need to be enlightened just ask. simple. Oversabi

kolidave:

 you have a phone and good internet, learn to use it wisely. No allow anybody to dey tell you rubbish. It's people like you that eat words hook line and sinker. No offence lolz... You are right. Well it's unlike me to ask when I could just browse... But I'm quite aware of the brains we have (or used to have) here on Nairaland and just felt like getting the right info from an individual. No offence taken Sire. But you could have passed same info in another form. lolz... You are right. Well it's unlike me to ask when I could just browse... But I'm quite aware of the brains we have (or used to have) here on Nairaland and just felt like getting the right info from an individual. No offence taken Sire. But you could have passed same info in another form.

geekybabe:





This is why some of you are so close-minded. hasty to jump into discussions you know nothing about.

Not every shawarma has sausage in it Oga. if you need to be enlightened just ask. simple. Oversabi 

Which shawarma not get sausage Which shawarma not get sausage</s>JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The World Health Organization says a deadly outbreak linked to tainted food in South Africa is now threatening other African nations, with neighboring Namibia reporting a confirmed case that might be connected.

A statement on Tuesday says WHO has reached out to 16 countries to help with preparedness and response to the listeriosis outbreak that has killed nearly 200 people since January 2017.

WHO says contaminated meat products may have been exported to two West African countries and a dozen southern African ones. A factory has been identified as the outbreak's source.

The health agency says that despite an international recall of the products further cases are likely because of listeriosis' potentially long incubation period.

South Africa's health minister has said there have been 950 cases of listeriosis in all.</s>The World Health Organization is coordinating efforts among 16 African countries in an attempt to contain the world’s largest ever Listeria outbreak as officials in Namibia try to discern whether a sick person in that country contracted listeriosis from processed meat imported from South Africa.

In another development this week, officials in Mozambique reported they have incinerated 55 metric tons of assorted processed meat — referred to in the region as polony — imported from Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken facilities in South Africa. Laboratory tests have shown that both companies’ production plants are contaminated.

Almost 200 people are confirmed to have died in the outbreak and almost 1,000 have been confirmed sick with listeriosis, according to South Africa’s health department.

Company officials with Rainbow doubled down on denials that the foodborne pathogen is not present in their plant, directly challenging South Africa’s Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi. Rainbow, known as RCL Foods, claims the problem is in the Enterprise plant in Polokwane. South Africa’s health department says the results of independent lab tests paid for by RCL do not change the situation.

“The real point is that listeria monocytogenes were found in their (RLC Foods) Wolwehoek factory, which has not changed,” health department spokesperson Popo Maja told South African media outlets.

“We made it clear … that we only had results of whole genome sequencing for the Enterprise Foods Polokwane production facility. We further clarify that for the RCL Foods Wolwehoek production facility in Sasolburg, we only have results of culture so far and that 14 percent of the environmental samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. We are awaiting whole genome sequencing results early next week.”

In Namibia, where traceback efforts are ongoing, public health officials told allafrica.com on Tuesday that they have determined a man who fell ill two weeks ago was infected by Listeria-contaminated Vienna sausage. They have identified a butcher shop in Grootfontein.

However, regional officials have not yet been able to establish whether the processed meat product was imported from South Africa. They are also waiting on confirmation tests to determine if the sick man is infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes. Meanwhile, Namibia’s main international entry points to Otavi and Grootfontein have initiated monitoring measures to prevent potentially contaminated imports.

“We will have a meeting with the managing director of the company which supplied the product, then we will screen and go to the market and remove all the products associated with the outbreak and dispose of them,” Oshikoto Region Health Director Peter Angala told allafrica.com.

In Mozambique National Inspectorate of Economic Activities General Inspector Acácio Foia told allafrica.com on Monday that there are still 40 metric tons of imported processed meats to be incinerated. He said imports of the polony produced by RCL Foods and Enterprise are being stopped at the border.

“I guarantee you that these products are not entering Mozambique,” he said. “The most important thing is to guarantee that (our department) and a multi-sector team that includes the customs service and the heath and agricultural authorities are ready in the field.”

WHO encourages cooperation, action

 Outbreak specialists with the World Health Organization also say a multi-pronged approach is needed. The WHO is seeking the help of 16 African nations to contain the outbreak.

Tuesday the international organization reported the contaminated ready-to-eat processed meat products may have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community (SADC). Those members are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The WHO also reported it expects more people to fall ill before the outbreak is over, even though the implicated polony has been recalled.

“… in light of the potentially long incubation period of listeriosis and the challenges relating to large scale nationwide recall processes, further cases are likely to occur,” according to a statement from the WHO detailing how countries need to work together on improving abilities to prepare for, detect and respond to outbreaks.

“This outbreak is a wake up call for countries in the region to strengthen their national food safety and disease surveillance systems,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

The international public health organization heralded whole genome sequencing as an invaluable tool in the outbreak investigation thus far. WHO is supporting further genome sequencing to determine which cases are linked to this on-going outbreak, according to the Tuesday statement.</s>Mr Marler says Australian authorities have done well to contain the outbreak.

A class action involving Australians affected by the listeria outbreak in rockmelons is likely, according to a United States legal expert.

Lawyer Bill Marler has been involved in food safety cases around the world for 25 years, including a listeria outbreak in rockmelons in the US that killed 33 people in 2011.

He is advising lawyers in South Africa on the current outbreak in cold meat products that has killed 200 people so far.

Mr Marler said Australian authorities had done well to contain the listeria outbreak in this country.

"The fact that you've been able to keep this outbreak down to lower numbers is a credit to your health department," he said.

In South Africa it took authorities a year to trace the source of the listeria outbreak to processed meat.

A class action has been launched today in that country and the crisis has "rocked the meat world in South Africa", according to Mr Marler.

"Hundreds of people are out of business — people who make sandwiches, workers in the plant. It is really a national disaster," he said.

The death toll includes 67 women whose children were born prematurely and subsequently died.

Listeria can cause brain injury in survivors

Mr Marler said the mortality rate for listeria was high at around 20–30 per cent, and it could cause debilitating brain injury in people who survived.

"Listeria causes brain swelling, it gets into the spinal fluid, that's what usually causes death, and if it doesn't it can cause brain trauma," he said.

Mr Marler said victims could make a range of claims under Australian law.

"They would be able to claim for medical expenses, wage losses and future medical needs and expenses," he said.

In the United States rockmelon outbreak, a case was made against the growers as well as the large supermarkets.

"Not only were they [the growers] fined significantly by the criminal court, they also went bankrupt," Mr Marler said.

"Their insurance proceeds went to the victims, and [the retailers] Walmart and Kroger also wound up paying tens of millions to the victims who survived."

Thomas Karst, national editor of The Packer, a trade publication for the fruit and vegetable industry in the US, said Australian consumers would need to know the exact cause of the outbreak before confidence could be restored in the product.

"What happened on the particular operation, what was the explanation for how the outbreak occurred?" he said.

Mr Karst said while most of the growing areas in the US had recovered by the following season, production in Colorado where the listeria outbreak occurred had been cut by a third.

Investigations by the US Food and Drug Administration found the source of infection in the US case was probably a combination of dirty equipment and placing the melons in cold storage after cutting that allowed the listeria to spread on-farm.

The NSW Food Authority is still investigating the source of contamination at the Rombola farm in the Riverina.</s>The Ghana-Namibia Friendship Association (GNFA) has described as inspiring the strides made by Namibia as the country marks its 28th independence day today. Namibia which gained self-rule from South Africa in 1990 remains one of Africa’s youngest nations, yet is counted among the most promising.

In a statement to commemorate the independence anniversary, Chairman of the Association, His Excellency, Haruna Atta, a former High Commissioner to Namibia congratulated men and women of the Southern African country and appreciated the efforts its leadership has invested in making Namibians and all their friends around the globe proud.

“28 years on, Namibia has held its own in the international community earning respect as a well-run country showing progress in the economy, infrastructure development, education, law and order, democracy and much more,” he said.

Ghana and Namibia have had a long history of friendship dating back to Namibia’s period of struggle against Apartheid South Africa. Ghana’s collaboration with Namibia has included the training of Namibian students in Ghana, and a partnership between the security agencies of the two countries.

According to the Chairman of the Association, “Namibia can look forward to a future of more mutually beneficial people-to-people relations between her and Ghana – a relationship that goes back to the struggle years.”

On continental integration, he said “the Ghana-Namibia Friendship Association on its part will play its catalyst role in bringing our peoples even closer in the spirit of African Unity and the pursuit of Agenda 2063.”

Air Namibia has announced it will from June resume its flights on the Windhoek-Accra route, this the GNFA “believes will enhance the people-to-people objective of the Association.”

The statement further stated that soon “Air Namibia would contribute greatly in opening up the tourist and business potentials of the two countries.”

The Ghana-Namibia Friendship Association was established in 2016 with the aim of fostering friendship among the two countries and nurturing an even deeper partnership and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of both countries.</s>Rockmelons on the shelf are now safe to eat, but symptoms of listeria infection can take between eight and 90 days to appear.

There have been a number of cases of food poisoning linked to rockmelons. (Credit: ABC licensed)

Last week, health authorities confirmed a fifth person had died and a woman had miscarried as a result of a listeria outbreak linked to contaminated rockmelons.

The deadly outbreak, which has been traced to a rockmelon farm in southern New South Wales, has affected at least 19 people in four states.

NSW authorities have withdrawn the affected melons from sale and distribution, so you can be assured rockmelons on the shelf are now safe to eat.

But since symptoms can take between eight and 90 days to appear, it is possible more people will be diagnosed with listeria infection.

It is relatively uncommon, and usually causes few or no symptoms in healthy people. But it can be very dangerous in unborn and newborn children, older people and people with a weakened immune system.

So here are some things to keep in mind if you've eaten rockmelon this year.

Listeria rare but can be fatal

Listeria is an illness usually caused by eating foods contaminated by the bacteria, listeria monocytogenes.

"Listeria is found right throughout the environment. It can be in soil, in water, on people's hands, and can turn up in food," said Lydia Buchtmann from the Food Safety Information Council.

For healthy people, listeria infection (also known as listeriosis) usually causes only mild illness.

But it can be very dangerous for pregnant women, their unborn babies, older people (persons over 65-70 years) and people with compromised immune systems.

"That includes people with diabetes, people recovering from cancer, organ transplant recipients and people on medications like cortisone," Ms Buchtmann said.

Listeriosis tends to start with flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, and sometimes diarrhoea.

Symptoms of infection in pregnant women may be mild and include a temperature before or during birth.

"It seems mild at first but it is quite serious. The infection can cross through the placenta to the baby, and that's why it's so dangerous," Ms Buchtmann said.

On very rare occasions, the illness can become more serious and develop into meningitis or septicaemia.

While you can treat listeria with antibiotics, it's best to avoid it. People at risk of listeria infection should avoid high-risk foods.

How does it get into foods?

Because listeria bacteria live in so many places, there are a number of ways for contamination to occur. The bacteria may be present in raw foods or contaminate food after it has been cooked or processed.

The NSW Food Authority is still working to determine the exact cause of the rockmelon outbreak, but Ms Buchtmann said it could have occurred at any stage of the farm-to-shelf process.

"Melons are grown in the ground so they may touch soil that is contaminated with listeria," she said.

"It can also be transferred by irrigation water, it can be in the processing plants [where] the fruit is washed, or it can be just in people's fingers who are touching it."

Listeria is easily killed by heat, although cooked foods can easily become re-contaminated through poor food handling after cooking.

"Listeria is one of the very few pathogens that will grow under refrigeration. It slows its growth, but it can still grow," Ms Buchtmann said.

Storing contaminated foods, even in the refrigerator, may allow the listeria bacteria to grow.

Foods to avoid for people at risk

For people who are pregnant, over 70, or have a weakened immune system, the best way to avoid listeria infection is to eat freshly cooked food, and well-washed, freshly prepared fruit and vegetables.

According to the Food Safety Information Council, people in high-risk groups should avoid foods which have a higher risk of listeria contamination, including:
• cold meats from delicatessen counters and sandwich bars, and packaged, sliced, ready-to-eat meats
• pre-prepared or pre-packaged fruit or vegetable salads, including those from buffets and salad bars
• chilled seafood such as raw oysters, sashimi and sushi, smoked, ready-to-eat seafood such as smoked salmon and cooked, ready-to-eat prawns
• soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheeses such as brie, camembert, ricotta, blue and feta

You can further reduce your risk by practicing good food safety, such as avoiding foods that are past their 'best before' or 'use by' date, refrigerating leftovers promptly, and cooking and reheating foods thoroughly.

The Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website states: "If you plan to eat previously cooked and refrigerated leftovers, only keep them in the refrigerator for a day and reheat them thoroughly to steaming hot. This will kill listeria bacteria."

It's also important to wash your hands before preparing food, and to wash knives, cutting boards and kitchen appliances after they've touched raw food — to prevent contamination of cooked and ready-to-eat foods.

If you are in a high-risk group, have eaten rockmelon earlier this year, and are not feeling well, it's a good idea to see your GP, Ms Buchtmann said.

"For the rest of the population, listeria is not normally a problem," she said.

"If you have gastro and it does persist more than a couple of days, do go and see your doctor."</s>As South Africa grapples with the world's worst listeria outbreak, it's small stores that are taking a financial hit from customers fearing for their lives. David Pollard reports.</s>The Australian and South African listeriosis outbreaks have one thing in common — fatality rates as high as 26 to 28 percent.

Health officials in Victoria, Australia, late last week announced the death of a man in his 80s as the fifth fatality in the country’s listeriosis outbreak. Two others who lost their lives from eating rockmelon, referred to as cantaloupe in the United States, were also Victoria residents. The two others were from Sydney.

Australia’s listeriosis outbreak so far involves 19 confirmed cases, including eight cases in Victoria, six in New South Wales (NSW), four in Queensland, and one in Tasmania. Mostly elderly Australians are infected. The average of the outbreak victims is 78.

Microbiological testing linked the latest death of the Victoria man to the outbreak, along with a recent miscarriage, also in Victoria. Lydia Buchtmann, the spokeswoman for the Food Safety Information Council, says more cases linked to the listeria contamination of rockmelon are likely because the pathogen has an incubation period as long as 70 days. All 19 confirmed cases involve people who ate rockmelon before a recall was initiated.

The NSW Food Authority named the Rombola Family Farm in the Riverina area as the likely source of the contaminated melons. The farm halted production and recalled its melons.

Australian growers anticipate the outbreak will result in new requirements once the NSW Food Authority completes its investigation.

In the much more massive listeriosis outbreak in South Africa, the fatality rate is running at 18 to 28 percent.

The lower number measures the 183 deaths against all Listeria cases going back to Jan. 1, 2017.

Using only the 649 illnesses caused by the outbreak strain results in the higher fatality rate. Other outbreak strains could be identified as investigators continue testing.

South Africa’s listeriosis outbreak is the largest on record, according to the World Health Organization. The source of that outbreak is a low cost processed meat known as “polony.”

The elderly, children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems along are most likely to be victims of listeriosis poisoning. Outbreak fatality rates typically range from 20 to 40 percent.
The World Health Organisation says a listeria outbreak spread via infected food responsible for 200 deaths in South Africa may have spread to Namibia. The organisation reaches out to 16 African nations it assesses as at risk.