African countries that have banned meat imports from South Africa after listeria outbreak
The listeria outbreak has killed at least 180 people since January.
Kenya is the latest African state to announce the ban that has been imposed in at least seven other nations in the continent with retailers being ordered to remove and destroy any such meats immediately.
Listeriosis can be caught from food containing listeria bacteria, or close contact with farm animals.
There have been 948 cases of listeria poisoning in South Africa reported since January 2017, according to Reuters - which the UN calls the largest outbreak ever.
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The infection mainly affects children and has a three-week incubation period, making it difficult to track. Symptoms from the food-borne disease include diarrhea, fever, general body pains, vomiting and weakness.
Business Insider SSA takes a look at all the African nations that have outlawed meat products from South Africa as the listeria scare spreads:
Mozambique
“(Ministry) asks that all owners of establishments that commercialize these products start to withdraw from the shelves due to the danger that this constitutes to health,” a statement from the country's Ministry of agriculture and food security said on Minday.
Namibia
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The Directorate of the Veterinary Services said on Tuesday that it has notified traders about the suspension of imports and in transit movement of ready-to-eat food.
Botswana
Botswana became the third country to announce the recall of South African processed meat over the listeriosis outbreak.
Zambia
Zambia on Monday widened its ban on processed meat imports from South Africa to include dairyproducts, vegetable and fruits.
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Malawi
Malawi's Competition and Fair Trading Commission on Monday ordered wholesalers and distributors of South African-made meat products to immediately withdraw and destroy meat products such as polony.
Swaziland
Swaziland's health ministry director Samuel Magagul confirmed that the kingdom has recalled contaminated South African meat products from the shelves of its supermarkets.
"We began withdrawing the meat products contaminated with listeria as soon as we were informed of developments from the South African authorities and have been busy outlining a list of health procedures and warnings since Sunday," said Magagul.
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s health ministry says that it is tightening surveillance at border posts and will confiscate and destroy the products if they’re found.
Kenya
Kenya is the first nation in east Africa to ban ready-to-eat meat products from South Africa that include polony — a local version of baloney sausage — sliced ham and Frankfurter-style sausages.
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