The ManicaPost
Dr Tendai Zuze Health Matters
Listeriosis is diagnosed based on a medical history and physical examination. Your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms, foods you have recently eaten, and your work and home environments. A blood test or spinal fluid test may be done to confirm the diagnosis.
Over the past few days, social media has been awash with developments on a disease called Listeriosis found in various South African food items. There have been no reported cases of the disease in Zimbabwe and we need to be on the lookout for it. Listeriosis is food poisoning caused by eating foods contaminated with a bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes.
In pregnant women, the infection can result in miscarriage, premature delivery, and serious infection of the new-born or even stillbirth.
Listeriosis affects mainly pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and adults with impaired immune systems for example from diabetes or HIV infection. Healthy adults and children sometimes are infected with L. monocytogenes, but they rarely become seriously ill. Babies can be born with Listeriosis if their mothers eat contaminated food while pregnant.
The bacterium that causes Listeriosisis found in soil and water.
Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertiliser.
Animals can carry the bacteria and can contaminate meats and dairy products.
Processed foods, such as soft cheeses and cold cuts, can be contaminated after processing.
Unpasteurised (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurised milk can be contaminated.
The symptoms of Listeriosis include fever, muscle aches, and sometimes nausea and diarrhoea.
If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions can occur. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild flu like illness.
Listeriosis is diagnosed based on a medical history and physical examination. Your doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms, foods you have recently eaten, and your work and home environments. A blood test or spinal fluid test may be done to confirm the diagnosis.
An otherwise healthy person who is not pregnant typically does not need treatment for Listeriosis.
Symptoms will usually go away within a few weeks. Antibiotics are used to treat the disease in the other groups of patients including infants and newborn babies.
To prevent Listeriosis practise safe food handling by doing the following:
Shop safely. Bag raw meat, poultry, or fish separately from other food items. Drive home immediately after finishing your shopping so that you can store all foods properly.
Prepare foods safely. Wash your hands before and after handling food. Also wash them after using the bathroom or changing diapers. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables by rinsing them well with running water. If possible, use two cutting boards-one for fresh produce and the other for raw meat, poultry, and seafood. You can also wash your knives and cutting boards in the dishwasher to disinfect them.
Store foods safely. Cook, refrigerate, or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and ready-to-eat foods within 2 hours. Make sure your refrigerator is set at 4°C or colder. But listeria can grow in the refrigerator, so clean up any spills in your refrigerator, especially juices from hot dogs, raw meat, or poultry.
Cook foods safely. Use a clean meat thermometer to determine whether foods are cooked to a safe temperature. Reheat leftovers before eating them. Do not eat undercooked hamburger, and be aware of the risk of food poisoning from raw fish (including sushi), clams, and oysters.
Serve foods safely. Keep cooked hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
Follow labels on food packaging. Food packaging labels provide information about when to use the food and how to store it. Reading food labels and following safety instructions will reduce your chance of becoming ill with food poisoning.
When in doubt, throw it out. If you are not sure whether a food is safe, don’t eat it. Reheating food that is contaminated will not make it safe. Don’t taste suspicious food. It may smell and look fine but still may not be safe to eat.
Avoid foods from a known listeria infected source
If you are pregnant you need to be extra vigilant in following these measures.
