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Listeria monocytogenes

Published on September 30, 2025   15 min

A selection of talks on Microbiology

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0:00
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.
0:23
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.

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