SINGAPORE: Two patients in Singapore had been infected with a listeria strain similar to an outbreak in Australia that has been linked to rockmelons, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday morning (Apr 16).
One patient has recovered while the other died for reasons not due to the listeria infection, the ministry said.
"There is no further public health risk from the Australia outbreak as the risks have been mitigated through the recall of the implicated consignments in March 2018," it added.
Both patients were infected by the listeria strain ST240, "which had a similar gene sequence to the listeria strain found in a patient in Australia affected by the outbreak of listeriosis in Australia this year", MOH said.
In March, Australian authorities confirmed that four people had died after consuming rockmelon contaminated with listeria, prompting Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority to recall all rockmelons from Australia as a "precautionary measure".
MOH made the announcement after initial epidemiological investigations did not show a link between the listeriosis cases and the Australian outbreak. Further laboratory investigations were conducted.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"The Ministry of Health’s National Public Health Laboratory has since completed genetic sequence analysis on listeria bacteria strains obtained from five patients who had listeria disease this year," MOH said.
"We will continue to monitor the situation closely," it added.
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