The Department of Health has rebuffed claims that government is neglecting the issue of children dying from suspected food poisoning.

According to the department, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) is currently treating the recent spate of deaths as a national security threat.

‘These increasing incidents in black communities have led to an unfortunate and unsubstantiated perception that authorities are turning a blind eye to this crisis, and seem not to care about what’s happening to citizens.

“Contrary to these beliefs and perceptions, this is what various authorities have been engaged in,’ a statement from the department read.

Those affected have concluded that these sudden deaths, especially among school children, were because of food poisoning emanating from foodstuff, particularly snacks, sold by foreign-owned spaza shops.

The Health Department said NATJOINTS, which is the national structure responsible for coordinating the security of the State, is treating these
incidents as a potential threat to the security of the country and its citizens.

‘Last week, NATJOINTS met to analyse this situation and after careful analysis, recommended that the Department of Health should coordinate all these investigations involving various institutions and bodies because in the final analysis, whatever is happening eventually leads to ill-health or even death.’

Meanwhile, the department said the South African Police Service (SAPS) detectives have been working around the clock to try unravel this ‘mystery’, especially where children have died, as is the case in Naledi, Soweto.

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In addition, the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros have deployed their Environmental Inspectors to investigate the cause of these suspected food poisoning incidents.

The Environmental Directorate of the National Department of Health has also sent its inspectors to check compliance with health regulations.

‘The D
epartment of Agriculture has also sent in their officials to check if the problem might not be emanating their produce or from lack of compliance with some of their production regulations,’ the department said, adding that the National Consumer Commission (NCC) has also deployed senior officials to investigate the possibility of a breach of consumer protection regulations.

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has decided to rope in the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) to assist.

‘This is because a few years ago, the country was bedeviled by a food-borne pathogen that doctors had diagnosed and laboratories identified as listeria monocytogenes. However, nobody knew what its source was.

‘It is the NICD that mounted a country-wide search that led to the identification of the source. The Minister thought that experience would come handy in the situation the country is faced with today,’ the department explained.

The team from the organs of State has concluded that they are dealing with a chemi
cal agent as the cause of the illness.

They also announced that a plan has since been put into place to mount a systemic search for the agent causing this malady, and that action will be accelerated during the coming weeks.

The plan entails unleashing an army of 80 health inspectors from the National Department of Health and the City of Johannesburg.

They will be joined by teams selected from SAPS, Agriculture and the NCC, which have already gone through the NICD and have been provided with the necessary equipment and tools. The teams will be working under NICD’s direct supervision.

The team, the department said, will commence their work in Naledi, Soweto, today.

Source: South African Government News Agency