The Hysteria Surrounding Listeria According to Lucille

A breakthrough in tracing the source of the current outbreak of listeriosis, or listeria as it has commonly become known, is imminent, Dr Lucille Blumberg told the meeting last week.

     She speculated in her very interesting talk that an announcement can be expected within weeks.

     The problem was that it was clear that she knew the answer, but wasn't telling. None of the journalists in the club could get her to reveal all, but then Jenine wasn't there!

The bell is clearly about to toll for the source of the listeria outbreak, said Lucille
 Blumberg at the meeting last week

     Lucille, deputy director at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, told the club that South Africa is currently experiencing the biggest outbreak in the world, with more than 850 reported cases at that stage, and over 100 deaths.

     It felt a bit like discussing a St Valentine's Day massacre, and this was all the morning before the welcome demise of the Jacob Zuma presidency later that evening!

     Listeria is named after the British surgeon Joseph Lister and is found literally everywhere, in water, soil, in the bowels of even healthy people, in the faeces of animals, in chickens, in soft cheese and in modern times often in processing plants for food products such as sausages and especially polony.
     It is not passed on from person to person, she stressed.

Frayne Mathijs, a nurse by profession, listens attentively

     The present outbreak is due to a particularly virulent strain of listeria, ST6, which affects newborn babies, the elderly and other vulnerable people the most.

     The organism is not destroyed by cold - neither fridges nor freezers, therefore - and can withstand heat up to 60 C.

     Lucille emphasised that there was no danger from properly cooked food, especially not fresh food from reputable outlets.

President Carol Stier listening to Lucille give one of the more interesting
 talks we've had recently

          She said finding the source of the outbreak has been a mammoth task and is also a very sensitive one, as proof has to be irrefutable before ordering a recall of product, for instance.

     She said the source was almost certainly not street vendors and would more likely be in the kind of processed food favoured by people in the lower middle classes.

     Watch this space!

     Training for presidents and AG's

     As incoming president, Linda Vink, accompanied by Joan Donet, attended the first special training session for presidents-elect and Assistant governors, held in Pretoria.

    Linda and her board will serve along with DGE Charles Deiner and they were lucky enough to be able to welcome the incoming Rotary International president, RIPE Barry Rassin and his wife, Esther,  from the Bahamas, to the training.

DGA Judy and DG Jankees Sligcher welcome RIPE Barry Rassin to the training sessions

     Linda reports that the training was very focused and made her feel far more relaxed about her year as president from July onwards.
     She found it very informative and useful, with lots of practical ideas to implement. It was also fun and very professionally presented.
     District Governor Jankees Sligcher had met RIPE Barry in Mozambique last week where he was hosted by the Maputo clubs before travelling to Pretoria.

New Dawn had a strong presence at the training sessions on Saturday and Sunday in Pretoria with Linda and Joan, Steve du Plessis and Judy Sligcher there, here posing with Esther Rassin

     Jankees announced the Audi sponsorship that he has managed to secure for his Discon, in Maputo and told the gathering that R24000 has already been pledged, with more to come. The money will be used for funding a tracker dog or dogs to help the anti-poaching units in the Kruger National Park.

DG Jankees with RIPE Barry Rassin with Jankees' new Audi Q5

     Audi have titled their campaign "Go Wild in February" (followed by March, April, May etc. in the lead up to Discon) and are donating R1000 for every Audi sold in that time, to the cause. Quite a coup for Jankees!

Dates to Diarise
     First up is the club assembly on Wednesday. Please try to be there, as decisions will be made on behalf of the club that cannot be changed informally. The assembly is being held in place of an ordinary meeting to make it possible for members people to attend.
     15 March: The Bridge drive is well under way with a steering committee getting the word out to bridge players far and wide. Every member of the club is expected to bring at least one table of four to the bridge day.
     Linda has all the details.
     26 March: 5Cees are having their annual evening to thank donors, helpers and  others involved and it is normally a fun evening where the kids get a chance to showcase their talents.
     If you are able to go, please let me know and I will inform Mike Sunker. They want to know by 19 March. Mike says there will be the traditional curry for supper, but also other options for those who aren't as fond of curry as some of the rest of us!
     After all the building and renovations last year, they now house, feed and nurture 75 kids.
     A Thought for the Week (from his State of the Nation Address): We are at a moment in the history of our nation when the people, through their determination, have started to turn the country around. We can envisage the triumph over poverty, we can see the end of the battle against AIDS. Now is the time to lend a hand. Now is the time for each of us to say "send me". - Cyril Ramaphosa (1952-).