Nearly 200 south Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in South Africa 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, South Africa. 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.
What is the Nigerian and other African government doing to curb this menace?
There have been much of talkings and persuasions by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in reducing or if possible eradicating the epidemic.
WHO’s Health Emergencies programme, the Global Outbreak alert and Response Network (GOARN) and the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) are working with the 16 priority countries to improve their ability to prepare for, detect and respond to potential outbreaks.
Immediate steps will 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.
Countries are encouraged to pay more attention to common foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, E.coli and Listeria, to notify WHO of listeriosis outbreaks in line with the International Health Regulations (2005), and to make use of WHO guidelines to strengthen surveillance of and response to the foodborne disease.
Nigeria,Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe ,Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Lesotho.
In respect to this,what are the positive measures taken by the Nigerian government?If at all they are aware of it.
South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, South Africa. 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.
What is the Nigerian and other African government doing to curb this menace?
There have been much of talkings and persuasions by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in reducing or if possible eradicating the epidemic.
WHO’s Health Emergencies programme, the Global Outbreak alert and Response Network (GOARN) and the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) are working with the 16 priority countries to improve their ability to prepare for, detect and respond to potential outbreaks.
Immediate steps will 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.
Countries are encouraged to pay more attention to common foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, E.coli and Listeria, to notify WHO of listeriosis outbreaks in line with the International Health Regulations (2005), and to make use of WHO guidelines to strengthen surveillance of and response to the foodborne disease.
Nigeria,Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe ,Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Lesotho.
In respect to this,what are the positive measures taken by the Nigerian government?If at all they are aware of it.
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