Listeria monocytogenes

This page is about microbiologic aspects of the organism(s). For clinical aspects of the disease, see Listeriosis.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]

Overview

Listeriosis is caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, a flagellated, catalase-positive, facultative intracellular, anaerobic, nonsporulating, Gram-positive bacillus. Listeria is commonly found in soil, water, vegetation and fecal material.^[1]

Listeriosis is caused by the bacterium Listeria spp.
Listeria monocytogenes is the most common species associated with development of listeriosis.
The genus Listeria contains ten species:

Of note, Listeria dinitrificans was previously thought to be part of the Listeria genus, but it has been reclassified into the new genus Jonesia.^[2]

In the environment, Listeria monocytogenes is commonly found in soil, water, vegetation and fecal material.
Animals may be asymptomatic carriers of Listeria.^[1]
L. monocytogenes has been associated with foods such as raw milk, pasteurized fluid milk, cheeses (particularly soft-ripened varieties), ice cream, raw vegetables, fermented raw-meat sausages, raw and cooked poultry, raw meats, and raw and smoked fish.^[3]
Listeria has the ability to grow at temperatures as low as 0°C, allows its multiplication in refrigerated foods. At refrigerated temperature such as 4°C, the amount of ferric iron in the environment promotes the growth of L. monocytogenes.^[4]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “Risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods” (PDF).
↑ M. D. Collins, S. Wallbanks, D. J. Lane, J. Shah, R. Nietupskin, J. Smida, M. Dorsch and E. Stackebrandt. Phylogenetic Analysis of the Genus Listeria Based on Reverse Transcriptase Sequencing of 16S rRNA. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. April 1991 vol. 41 no. 2 240–246
↑ Fleming, D. W., S. L. Cochi, K. L. MacDonald, J. Brondum, P. S. Hayes, B. D. Plikaytis, M. B. Holmes, A. Audurier, C. V. Broome, and A. L. Reingold. 1985. Pasteurized milk as a vehicle of infection in an outbreak of listeriosis. N. Engl. J. Med. 312:404-407.
↑ Dykes, G. A., Dworaczek (Kubo), M. 2002. Influence of interactions between temperature, ferric ammonium citrate and glycine betaine on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in a defined medium. Lett Appl Microbiol. 35(6):538-42.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 “Public Health Image Library (PHIL), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”.