News and Events

Listeriosis monitoring intensifies

As efforts continues in the monitoring of Listeriosis outbreak, the Ministry of Health and Wellness took different media houses for a tour of the ministry’s Port Health station at Tlokweng border, with the aim to sensitize the media on majors the government has put in place to prevent Listeriosis since its outbreak in South Africa.

According to the Principal Technical Officer in the Ministry of Health & Wellness based at Tlokweng boarder- Port Health, Mr. Obakeng Fredrick Kgosiethata, Port Health was established in 2010 to protect the public from disease outbreaks in other countries such as Ebola, Listeriosis, and Yellow Fever and also to inspect goods coming into the country.

Mr Kgosiethata explained that the Tlokweng boarder Port Health has since intensified Listeriosis prevention measures. ‘‘As Port Health, we believe in physical inspection, we conduct a search on all goods coming Botswana”, he explained. He added that if affected goods are found, Port Health has the power as per the Public Health Act to return them back and deny them entry into the country. “We emphasis on paying attention to details on everything that arrives”, he continued. Kgosiethata further said that they do a mass scan on people, trucks and cars coming into the country with goods. He further said that they have staff based at all entry point.

He further said they also work with different stakeholders with whom they share information and strategies with including Ministry of Agriculture, Veterinary, Botswana Police, Immigration Personnel, Wildlife, Director of Intelligence and Security (DIS) and others. Mr. Farnwell Bojase, a Senior Health Officer in the ministry’s Department of Environmental Health, explained they use scanners to intensify the searches for anything that is difficult to identify with a naked eye. He applauded the customers for complying with regulations of returning the affected goods back to South Africa. Bojase also said that when a truck of goods comes, it goes through several stages such as, clearing of goods, invoice checking, ramps and offloads. Read more...



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