Listeria monocytogenes infection in ruminants: Is there a link to the environment, food and human health? A review

Abstract

Listeria (L.) monocytogenes is widely distributed in the environment, but also has the ability to cause serious invasive disease in ruminants and humans. This review provides an overview of listeriosis in ruminants and discusses our insufficient understanding of reservoirs and possible cycling ofL. monocytogenes between animal and human hosts, food and the environment. It indicates gaps in our knowledge of the role of genetic subtypes in L. monocytogenes ecology and virulence as well as risk factors, in vivo diagnostics and pathogenesis of listeriosis in ruminants. Filling these gaps will contribute to improving the control of L. monocytogenes and enhancing disease prevention. As the prevalence of listeriosis in ruminants in Switzerland is likely to be underestimated, propositions concerning improvement options for surveillance of listeriosis in ruminants are provided. Summary Listeria (L.) monocytogenes is widely distributed in the environment, but also has the ability to cause serious invasive disease in ruminants and humans. This review provides an overview of listeriosis in ruminants and discusses our insufficient understanding of reservoirs and possible cycling of L. monocytogenes between animal and human hosts, food and the environment. It indicates gaps in our knowledge of the role of genetic subtypes in L. monocytogenes ecology and virulence as well as risk factors, in vivo diagnostics and pathogenesis of listeriosis in ruminants. Filling these gaps will contribute to improving the control of L. monocytogenes and enhancing disease prevention. As the prevalence of listeriosis in ruminants in Switzerland is likely to be underestimated, propositions concerning improvement options for surveillance of listeriosis in ruminants are provided.

Characterization ofListeria monocytogenesfrom encephalitis cases of small ruminants from different geographical regions, in Greece

“…Furthermore, according to European surveillance data, encephalitis due to listeriosis is of major veterinary importance because it is associated with high morbidity and mortality in infected ruminants (Walland et al . ).…”

“…Among the different methods, PFGE is considered accurate for epidemiological investigations and it is widely used for listeriosis surveillance and outbreak investigations (Fugett et al 2007;Felix et al 2012b;Fox et al 2012;Jensen et al 2016). However, since there is little information on the subtypes of L. monocytogenes isolates from ruminants, the prevalence, ecology and transmission of this bacterium in farm environment remains unclear and studies for the characterization of clinical as well as nonclinical isolates from ruminants are needed (Balandyte et al 2011;Walland et al 2015;Dreyer et al 2016).…”

“…Antimicrobial resistance in clinical strains isolated from sheep with meningoencephalitis has been previously reported. However, the number of systematic studies on antimicrobial resistance of clinical L. monocytogenes isolates, especially from ruminants, is limited (Vela et al 2001;Walland et al 2015).…”

“…listeriosis is very low, it is recognized as the most severe zoonosis with the highest hospitalization and mortality rate (13Á8% among 2480 confirmed cases in EU) (EFSA 2018). Furthermore, according to European surveillance data, encephalitis due to listeriosis is of major veterinary importance because it is associated with high morbidity and mortality in infected ruminants (Walland et al 2015).Listeria monocytogenes is a common habitant of farm environment, in water, soil, manure and decayed plant material, which are considered to be its natural…”

Phloretin Attenuates Listeria monocytogenes Virulence Both In vitro and In vivo by Simultaneously Targeting Listeriolysin O and Sortase A

“…L. monocytogenes is ubiquitous in the natural environment, and infection with this bacterium results in high mortality, with a rate of 30% or higher, despite early intervention with antimicrobial therapy (Posfay-Barbe and Wald, 2009; Walland et al, 2015). The strong resistance of L. monocytogenes to extreme environments, such as those with a low pH, a high concentration of salt or a cold temperature, makes it difficult to avoid food contamination (Martinez-Suarez et al, 2016).…”