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Hello, everyone. My name
is Dr. Sarah Fouch,
and welcome to this short
recording where we will
be considering listeria
monocytogenes.
The clinical condition that
this is associated with,
the patients most at risk and
also the virulence factors
produced to make this
a successful pathogen.
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Listeria species are small
gram positive bacilli.
They are considered
ubiquitous in nature,
which means that they
can be found everywhere
initially considered as
saprophytic organism,
meaning that this
has the ability to
feed on dead organic substances.
Listeria has adapted
to be able to
survive in a range of
different environments,
including cold temperatures down
to four degrees centigrade,
a wide range of pH levels and in
the persistence of disinfectants
or ultraviolet light.
Now listeria is often
associated with
farming the environment and
food handling processes,
and this is due to its
ubiquitous nature.
Its carriage within livestock
and this causes
contamination with
infected animal feces and
unsanitary conditions
during food processing.
Several species are included
within the listeria family the
two we are most concerned
about include listeria
monocytogenes,
which is considered a
primary human pathogen and
listeria ivanovii
which rarely affects
humans however is a primary
pathogen in ruminants.
Other species within this family
are considered non pathogenic.
Worryingly, the numbers
of reported cases
of listeriosis have increased
since 2008 with 30 European
countries reporting cases.
Interestingly, a high
number of cases were
reported in the
over 65 age group.
