The strain of listeria found in the Polokwane factory that tested positive is particularly virulent. South Africa says it has finally traced the source of a listeria outbreak that has killed 180 people in the past year - said to make it the worst in history.

 

The source is a factory operated by Enterprise Foods in Polokwane in Limpopo. More facilities are being tested to see if they contributed to the outbreak which infected almost 1,000 people. The health minister warned cross-contamination of other processed meats could have occurred in shops.

 

"Avoid all processed meat products that are sold as ready to eat‚" Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told journalists at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Sunday afternoon.

 

He told pregnant women to avoid any processed meat "like the plague", reported Times Live.

 

In some people the disease causes high temperatures, vomiting and diarrhoea, and the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and babies - both in the womb and newborn - are particularly vulnerable.

 

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More than 16 environmental samples from the Enterprise Polokwane factory tested positive for the Listeriosis monocytogenes strain ST 6 - a particularly virulent strain.

 

Mr Motsoaledi said a ready-to-eat sausage known as polony, made by Enterprise Food and RCL Foods, would be recalled from stores. A shortage of the solution used for testing for the listeria bacteria meant the results of the tests at the Polokwane factory were delayed by two weeks, NICD's Dr Juno Thomas told Times Live.

 

It is believed that the factory will be closed down.

 

The Listeria bacteria is hard to test for, as it is not homogenously distributed in food. It can also "hide away" in cracks or niches in factories.

 

Consumers who stored recalled products in their fridges should disinfect them with diluted bleach.

 

Panic grips South Africa over sausage contamination

Hundreds of customers have flocked to the South African factories suspected of being the source of the listeriosis infection which has claimed at least 180 lives in the last 14 months. Members of the public are demanding refunds for some of the meat products they bought and some are returning the goods.

 

South Africa’s Health Minister Arron Motsoaledi told a media briefing the Enterprize facility in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, was the source of the outbreak. But he said everyone had a role to play - including agriculture, trade and industry and local municipalities - as he blamed a long food chain and a lack of stringent controls. He said: “There was no way that they were going to have this outbreak if there was no lapse. It definitely means there was a lapse, there was no good quality control."

 

The food items the minister demanded be removed from shop shelves include Russian and Vienna sausages, as well as the cold meat polony.

 

Two of South Africa's largest supermarket chains, Pick n Pay and Woolworths, have wasted no time in removing any products associated with the outbreak. A Pick n Pay spokesman told TimesLive they would also be cleaning all their fridges to avoid cross-contamination.

 

National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the bacterium is widely distributed in natural environment such as soil, water and contaminated food. Companies implicated in the outbreak are yet to make their statements public.

 

What is listeriosis?

It can be caught from food containing listeria bacteria, or close contact with farm animals

Cases usually involve unpasteurised milk or dairy products, such as camembert and brie

Pre-packed foods, including sandwiches and paté, can also contain listeria

Symptoms include high temperature, flu-like symptoms, vomiting and diarrhoea

Most people infected display no symptoms, but elderly and very young people are vulnerable

Source: NHS, BBC