Health scares need rapid action

WE ARE in the grip of a food poisoning epidemic that has affected a reported 557 people so far in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, killing 36. Until this week, when Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced it, not many South Africans would even have been aware of listeriosis. It’s caused by the listeria bacteria found in soil, water, poultry and cattle, milk and processed meats. Symptoms can present between two and 30 days after exposure and include fever, nausea, diarrhoea, stiff muscles and even convulsions.

For those in good health listeriosis can probably be shrugged off, but in people with compromised immune systems, or for the elderly or very young, contracting it can lead to death.

Listeriosis is not unknown in South Africa – there are documented cases from the late 1970s – but it has returned with a vengeance. The number of 557 patients might be insignificant given the infection rates of other diseases, but taken against previous year’s incidences of between 60 and 80 cases, it is a staggering increase in a short time.

There is potential for a runaway outbreak, given the number of people living in poverty with attendant low to non-existent opportunities to practise good hygiene and access food that is properly prepared and stored. The drive to save water in the Western Cape raises the spectre of poor hygiene, particularly cutting back on hand washing and the washing of food and dishes, creating a situation conducive to further infections.

The possibility of an outbreak was first raised by doctors in July, when they spotted an abnormally high rate of neo-natal cases.

But why did it take the national health department so long to brief the minister who then went public with it this week? We are left with a nagging suspicion that people are not just dying from an avoidable problem, but that this risk could have been eradicated entirely if there was more decisive action earlier.