AIMS: A series of cases and outbreaks of febrile noninvasive gastrointestinal disease involving 31 identified cases was investigated in terms of the numbers and types of Listeria monocytogenes present in the suspect foods (ready-to-eat meats) and clinical samples from cases. METHODS AND RESULTS: Foods and faecal samples involved in the incidents were tested for the presence and number of L. monocytogenes. Isolates were typed by macrorestriction analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The foods contained high levels of L. monocytogenes, in one case 1.8 x 10(7) g-1. Faecal samples contained L. monocytogenes for up to 15 d after the contaminated food was consumed. All isolates from the food and faecal samples were of serotype 1/2 and were indistinguishable from one another by macrorestriction typing. CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that the meats were contaminated either during their manufacture after they had been cooked or by underprocessing. The long shelf lives on these products would have allowed the contaminating L. monocytogenes to grow to the high numbers measured in this study, causing food poisoning as described. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Outbreaks of febrile noninvasive listeriosis are relatively rare. This report adds ready-to-eat meats to the range of foods that have acted as vehicles for such outbreaks.
AIMS: A series of cases and outbreaks of febrile noninvasive gastrointestinal disease involving 31 identified cases was investigated in terms of the numbers and types of Listeria monocytogenes present in the suspect foods (ready-to-eat meats) and clinical samples from cases. METHODS AND RESULTS: Foods and faecal samples involved in the incidents were tested for the presence and number of L. monocytogenes. Isolates were typed by macrorestriction analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The foods contained high levels of L. monocytogenes, in one case 1.8 x 10(7) g-1. Faecal samples contained L. monocytogenes for up to 15 d after the contaminated food was consumed. All isolates from the food and faecal samples were of serotype 1/2 and were indistinguishable from one another by macrorestriction typing. CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that the meats were contaminated either during their manufacture after they had been cooked or by underprocessing. The long shelf lives on these products would have allowed the contaminating L. monocytogenes to grow to the high numbers measured in this study, causing food poisoning as described. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Outbreaks of febrile noninvasive listeriosis are relatively rare. This report adds ready-to-eat meats to the range of foods that have acted as vehicles for such outbreaks.
Authors: Alejandra A Latorre; Jo Ann S Van Kessel; Jeffrey S Karns; Michael J Zurakowski; Abani K Pradhan; Kathryn J Boor; Evin Adolph; Sharinne Sukhnanand; Ynte H Schukken Journal: Appl Environ Microbiol Date: 2011-03-25 Impact factor: 4.792
Authors: Y Doorduyn; C M de Jager; W K van der Zwaluw; W J B Wannet; A van der Ende; L Spanjaard; Y T H P van Duynhoven Journal: Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis Date: 2006-07 Impact factor: 3.267
Authors: Juliane Pichler; Peter Much; Sabine Kasper; Rainer Fretz; Bettina Auer; Julia Kathan; Michaela Mann; Steliana Huhulescu; Werner Ruppitsch; Ariane Pietzka; Karl Silberbauer; Christian Neumann; Ernst Gschiel; Alfred de Martin; Angelika Schuetz; Josef Gindl; Ernst Neugschwandtner; Franz Allerberger Journal: Wien Klin Wochenschr Date: 2009 Impact factor: 1.704