Listeriosis deaths
Tiger Brands reopens meat plant after listeria outbreak
South Africa issued a recall of all processed meat products called ‘polony' and ordered the closure of some processing plants, after the disease killed more...
This comes after a South Gauteng High Court granted Richard Spoor Attorneys the go ahead to sue Tiger Brands for damages and liability.
Richard Spoor Attorneys launched the application against Tiger Brands, saying it will proceed with the class action early next year.
The lawyers say they are waiting for a notice to be published this week to allow for their class-action lawsuit against Tiger Brands to go ahead.
On Monday, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced the end of the listeriosis outbreak, saying that there has not been a new case reported in the last three months.
The number of cases reported has risen to 1,033, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said.
Around 50 new cases of listeriosis have been reported in South Africa since the outbreak in December, with almost two hundred reported deaths from the disease.
Since January this year, just over 1,000 cases have been reported countrywide.
There have now been 193 confirmed deaths, out of 691 confirmed cases. There are still 320 cases being tested.
Between 17 January and 6 April, Australia reported 19 confirmed and one probable case of listeriosis, all of whom were hospitalised. Seven died.
Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said the ban was lifted on most food after tests had not revealed the presence of listeria.
Exactly a month since the recall of Enterprise polony, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) says that the number of listeriosis cases has decreased significantly.
This brings the total to 121 cases in the province since a countrywide outbreak was first reported last year. Twenty-nine people have died in the Cape from the food-borne disease.