![]() ![]() To improve surveillance, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists has recommended that all L. Listeriosis was added to the list of nationally notifiable diseases in 2001. Īccording to the CDC’s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases: Neonatal infections are often severe, with a mortality rate of 25-50%. Perinatal disease decreased from 17.4 cases per 100,000 births in 1989 to 8.6 cases per 100,000 births in 1993. Īmong adults 50 years of age and older, infection rates were estimated to have declined from 16.2 per 1 million in 1989 to 10.2 per 1 million in 1993. Listeriosis-related mortality rates decreased annually by 10.7% from 1990 through 1996, and by 4.3% from 1996 through 2005. In comparison, a USDA study published in 1996 estimated that there had been 1,795-1860 Listeria-related cases in 1993, and 445-510 deaths, with 85-95% of these attributable to the consumption of contaminated food. population, suggesting that an estimated 1,965 cases and 481 deaths occurred in 1989 compared with an estimated 1,092 cases and 248 deaths in 1993, a 44% and 48% reduction in illness and death, respectively. Ī study published in 1995 projected Listeria infection-rates to the U.S. Consequently, most healthy adults can be exposed to Listeria with little to any risk of infection and illness. These bacteria primarily cause severe illness and death in persons with immature or compromised immune systems. Ingested by mouth, Listeria is among the most virulent foodborne pathogens, with up to 20% of clinical infections resulting in death. According to the FDA, “studies suggest that 1-10% of humans may be intestinal carriers of Listeria.” Another authority notes that the “organism has been isolated from the stool of approximately 5% of healthy adults.” Overall, seasonal trends show a notable peak in total Listeria cases and related deaths from July through October. Listeria bacteria are found widely in the environment in soil, including in decaying vegetation and water, and may be part of the fecal flora of a large number of mammals, including healthy human adults. Given its widespread presence in the environment and food supply, the ingestion of Listeria has been described as an “exceedingly common occurrence.” Since then, Listeria has been implicated in many outbreaks of food-borne illness, most commonly from exposure to contaminated dairy products and prepared meat products, including turkey and deli meats, pâté, hot dogs and seafood and fish. A subsequent outbreak in California in 1985 confirmed the role of food in disseminating listeriosis. In that outbreak, cabbages, stored in the cold over the winter, were contaminated with Listeria through exposure to infected sheep manure. monocytogenes was recognized as an animal pathogen over 80 years ago, the first outbreak confirming an indirect transmission from animals to humans was reported only in 1983, in Canada’s Maritime provinces. Perhaps not surprisingly then, “foodborne illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes has raised significant public health concern in the United States, Europe, and other areas of the world.” As one noted expert observed, summarizing the history of these bacteria and their significance for public health,Īlthough L. Ĭalled an “opportunistic pathogen,” Listeria is noted to cause an estimated 2,600 cases per year of severe invasive illness. These bacteria multiply best at 86-98.6 degrees F (30-37 degrees C), but also multiply better than all other bacteria at refrigerator temperatures, something that allows temperature to be used as a means of differentiating Listeria from other contaminating bacteria. ![]() monocytogenes (pronounced maw-NO-site-aw-JUH-neez) causes disease in humans. ![]() ![]() Listeria (pronounced liss-STEER-ē-uh) is a gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium that can grow under either anaerobic (without oxygen) or aerobic (with oxygen) conditions. ![]()
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