Listeria monocytogenes

Abstract

Listeriosis is an atypical foodborne illness of major public health concern because of the severity of the disease (meningitis, septicemia, and spontaneous abortion), the high case fatality rate (approximately 20 to 30%), the long incubation time (up to 70 days), and a predilection for individuals who have an underlying condition that leads to impairment of T-cell-mediated immunity. Control of L. monocytogenes in foods represents a significantly greater challenge than most foodborne pathogens in that it is widely distributed in the environment, is resistant to diverse environmental conditions, including low pH and high NaCl concentrations, and is facultatively anaerobic and psychrotrophic. The various ways in which L. monocytogenes can enter food processing plants, its capacity for prolonged survival in the environment (soil, plants, and water), on foods, and in food processing plants, and its ability to grow at low temperatures (2 to 4°C) and to survive in biofilms or on/in foods and food contact surfaces for prolonged periods under adverse conditions have made this bacterium a major concern of the agrifood industry for more than 25 years.