Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram positive, aerobic, facultative anaerobic and nonacid fast bacterium, which can cause the disease listeriosis in both human and animals. It is widely distributed thoroughout the environment and has been isolated from various plant and animal food products associated with listeriosis outbreaks.

Contaminated ready-to-eat food products such as gravad and cold-smoked salmon and rainbow trout have been associated with human listeriosis in Sweden. The aim of this study was to analyse the occurrence and level of L. monocytogenes in
gravad and cold-smoked salmon (Salmo salar) products packed under vacuum or modified atmosphere from retail outlets in Sweden. Isolated strains were characterized by serotyping and the diversity of the strains within and between
producers were determined with PFGE (Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis). The characterized fish isolates were compared with previously characterized human strains.
L. monocytogenes was isolated from 11 (three manufacturers) of 56 products analysed. This included gravad salmon products from three manufacturers and cold-smoked salmon from one manufacturer. The highest level of L. monocytogenes found was 1500 cfu/g from a cold-smoked salmon product but the level was low (<100 cfu/g) in most of the products. Serovar 1/2a was predominant,
followed by 4b. Three products of gravad salmon harboured more than one serovar. PFGE typing of the 56 salmon isolates detected five Asc I types: four types were identical to human clinical strains with Asc I and one was identical and one was closely related to human clinical strains with Apa I. Isolation of identical or closely related L. monocytogenes strains from human clinical cases of listeriosis and gravad and cold-smoked salmon suggested that these kinds of products are possible sources of listeriosis in Sweden. Therefore, these products should be considered risk products for human listeriosis.

Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen

Listeria monocytogenes virulence and pathogenicity, a food safety perspective.

https://www.ucipfg.com/Repositorio/MIA/MIA-07/Unidad_academica01/Control_of_L_monocytogenes.pdf

Control of Listeria monocytogenes in the Food-Processing Environment

The role of seafood in bacterial foodborne diseases.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important food-borne pathogen and is widely tested for in food, environmental and clinical samples. Identification traditionally involved culture methods based on selective enrichment and plating followed by the characterization of Listeria spp. based on colony morphology, sugar fermentation and haemolytic properties. These methods are the gold standard; but they are lengthy and may not be suitable for testing of foods with short shelf lives. As a result more rapid tests were developed based on antibodies (ELISA) or molecular techniques (PCR or DNA hybridization). While these tests possess equal sensitivity, they are rapid and allow testing to be completed within 48 h. More recently, molecular methods were developed that target RNA rather than DNA, such as RT-PCR, real time PCR or nucleic acid based sequence amplification (NASBA). These tests not only provide a measure of cell viability but they can also be used for quantitative analysis. In addition, a variety of tests are available for sub-species characterization, which are particularly useful in epidemiological investigations. Early typing methods differentiated isolates based on phenotypic markers, such as multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, phage typing and serotyping. These phenotypic typing methods are being replaced by molecular tests, which reflect genetic relationships between isolates and are more accurate. These new methods are currently mainly used in research but their considerable potential for routine testing in the future cannot be overlooked.

Methods for the isolation and identification of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes: a review

An outbreak of listeriosis in Sweden, consisting of nine cases, was investigated by means of molecular typing of strains from patients and strains isolated from suspected foodstuffs, together with interviews of the patients. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from six of the patients, and all isolates were of the same clonal type. This clonal type was also isolated from a "gravad" rainbow trout, made by producer Y, found in the refrigerator of one of the patients. Unopened packages obtained from producer Y were also found to contain the same clonal type of L. monocytogenes. Based on the interview results and the bacteriological typing, we suspect that at least six of the nine cases were caused by gravad or cold-smoked rainbow trout made by producer Y. To our knowledge, this is the first rainbow trout-borne outbreak of listeriosis ever reported.

An outbreak of listeriosis suspected to have been caused by rainbow trout.

Lessons from an outbreak of listeriosis related to vacuum-packed gravad and cold-smoked fish : Annex II – List of background papers – Background paper no. 1

Lessons from an outbreak of listeriosis related to vacuum-packed gravad and cold-smoked fish.

Genotype dynamics of Campylobacter jejuni in a broiler flock.

By using pyrosequencing (i.e., sequencing by synthesis) 106 strains of different serovars of Listeria monocytogenes were rapidly grouped into four categories based on nucleotide variations at positions 1575 and 1578 of the inlB gene. Strains of serovars 1/2a and 1/2c constituted one group, and strains of serovars 1/2b and 3b constituted another group, whereas serovar 4b strains were separated into two groups.

http://oru.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:800522/FULLTEXT01

Henrik Ericsson

Papers

An outbreak of listeriosis suspected to have been caused by rainbow trout.

Lessons from an outbreak of listeriosis related to vacuum-packed gravad and cold-smoked fish : Annex II – List of background papers – Background paper no. 1

Lessons from an outbreak of listeriosis related to vacuum-packed gravad and cold-smoked fish.

Genotype dynamics of Campylobacter jejuni in a broiler flock.

Pyrosequencing as a Method for Grouping of Listeria monocytogenes Strains on the Basis of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the inlB Gene