Two people have died due to listeriosis in South Africa's North West province, Health member of the executive council (MEC) Dr Magome Masike said on Thursday.
"We lost one patient in Klerksdorp and another in Rustenburg, we got another on admitted now to [hospital in] Klerksdorp. Listeriosis has always been a disease that has been there, it responds to ordinary drugs, it's easy to treat, you can kill it with penicillin, the difficulty is to detect it," Masike said.
He said listeriosis presents flu-like symptoms, and when it gets worse it presents gastroenteritis (diarrhoea and vomiting).
"Anybody can have diarrhoea and vomiting unless you do the right test," he said.
He said only three cases have been reported in the province to date.
Listeriosis affects mainly pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and adults with impaired immune systems.
Healthy adults and children sometimes are infected, but they rarely become seriously ill. Babies can be born with listeriosis if their mothers eat contaminated food during pregnancy.
ANA
