No evidence of Listeriosis outbreak: NICD

“This is not unexpected, because Listeriosis is a severe disease that targets vulnerable people at high risk and typically has a fatality rate of 20-30%,” said the NICD.

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) says there is no evidence of an outbreak of Listeriosis in the country.

While 21 people have died recently from Listeriosis, the institute said this is not unexpected.

"This is not unexpected, because Listeriosis is a severe disease that targets vulnerable people at high risk and typically has a fatality rate of 20-30%," said the NICD.

For the 12 months following the official end of the 2017/2018 Listeriosis outbreak, a total of 87 laboratory-confirmed Listeriosis cases were reported.

The NICD said this is below the expected range.

Furthermore, there have been no unusual trends in the epidemiological patterns of disease.

Data for South Africa from 2013 show that prior to the 2017/2018 Listeriosis outbreak, 55 to 113 cases per year were reported.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)