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About the Authors:
Pongpan Laksanalamai
Affiliation: Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland, United States of America
Scott A. Jackson
Affiliation: Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland, United States of America
Mark K. Mammel
Affiliation: Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland, United States of America
Atin R. Datta
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland, United States of America
Introduction
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive foodborne bacterial pathogen responsible for human and animal listeriosis. Recent data [1] indicate that the total number of human listeriosis case in the USA is about 1,600 cases/infections per year causing 255 deaths. The economic burden due to death, hospitalization and destruction of food amounts to several billion dollars each year. The invasive (Inv) form of listeriosis is characterized by septicemia, meningitis, abortion, still birth and death while the febrile gastroenteritis (FG) form is characterized by fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea [2], [3]. Invasive listeriosis predominantly affects immuno-compromised individuals including pregnant women, elderly and patients whose immunity is compromised by drug treatment and/or an underlying disease. On the other hand, FG cases have been reported to affect healthy individuals with a high attack rate [2], [3]. Although in recent years several outbreaks of FG outbreaks due to L. monocytogenes have been reported [3], [4], the actual burden of FG due to L. monocytogenes is not known because FG cases are not routinely screened for L. monocytogenes [1].
Based on somatic and flagellar antigens, L. monocytogenes strains can be classified into 13 serotypes [5], of which the vast majority of human listeriosis cases are caused by serotypes 1/2a, 1/2b and 4b [2], [6]. The majority of FG outbreaks are caused by serotype 1/2a and 1/2b strains whereas the majority of Inv listeriosis outbreaks are caused by serotype 4b strains [2], [3]. Generally, FG outbreaks have been associated with high level of contamination with L. monocytogenes [7] but the relevance...