South Africa's Health Minister has announced the end to the world's worst recorded listeria outbreak after it killed 216 people and caused illness to more than 1,000 people since early 2017.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told a news conference that no new cases had been recorded for three months.

"The conclusion is that the outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa is over," Mr Motsoaledi said.

Health officials announced in March that they had traced the outbreak to an Enterprise Food plant, 300km (185 miles) northeast of Pretoria, and immediately ordered a nationwide recall of affected processed meat products.

What is listeria?

The listeria bacteria can develop into the rare but serious listeriosis illness

It has symptoms that are similar to flu, including high temperature, muscle ache, sickness and diarrhoea

It can be more serious for people with weakened immune systems and also the elderly, pregnant women and infants