South Africa – 216 Dead with 1,060 with Listeria in South Africa – People still getting sick from Polony

Food Poison Journal

NICD updated this Listeria Outbreak at the end of July.  Of note, the numbers of ill have continued to drop following the recall of Tiger Brands Enterprise Foods polony in March. However, it appears that some of the “recalled” product is still being consumed.

1,060 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported from 01 January 2017 to 17 July 2018. The number of new cases reported each week has decreased since the implicated products were recalled on 04 March 2018 with no new cases of listeriosis reported during the week prior to release of this sitrep (Figure 1). Neonates ≤28 days of age are the most affected age group (42%, 443/1 060), followed by adults aged 15 – 49 years of age (32%, 334/1 060) – Figure 2. Most cases have been reported from Gauteng Province (58%, 614/1 060), followed by Western Cape (13%, 136/1 060) and KwaZulu-Natal (8%, 83/1 060) provinces (Table 1). Final outcome (i.e. death or discharge) is known for 76% (806/1 060) of total cases to date; 27% (216/806) with known outcome died.

 

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