WINDHOEK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's health ministry said Wednesday that it had strengthened the surveillance at points of entries in the wake of the first case of listeria detected in the country.
Health minister Bernard Haufiku told the National Assembly Tuesday that one case of listeria was detected on March 5, and that the patient, a 41-year-old man was currently admitted at a Windhoek hospital.
Haufiku said the case was detected at Tsumeb, a town in the north-central part of the country.
In a statement issued Wednesday by the acting permanent secretary Petronella Masabane, the ministry said it was working with Ministry of Finance (Customs & Excise) and Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (Veterinary Services).
Masabane also said the ministry had ordered a stop to the selling of ready-to-eat meat products and recalled all such products from the shops.
Also, Masabane said, the import of ready-to-eat meat products from Rainbow Chickens and Enterprise Foods Ltd., South Africa, had been banned.
According to Masabane, some of the targeted meat products are polony, Vienna, sausages, Russians, frankfurters and ham salamis.
All environmental health practitioners, according to Masabane, had been ordered to inspect all retailers selling these products and ensure that they are removed from the shelves and destroyed under strict supervision.
