Abstract
Over the past 11 years, the Slovak National Reference Laboratory has collected a panel of 988 Listeria monocytogenes isolates in Slovakia, which were isolated from various food sectors (61%), food-processing environments (13.7%), animals with listeriosis symptoms (21.2%), and human cases (4.1%). We serotyped these isolates by agglutination method, which revealed the highest prevalence (61.1%) of serotype 1/2a and the lowest (4.7%) of serotype 1/2c, although these represented the majority of isolates from the meat sector. The distribution of CCs analyzed on 176 isolates demonstrated that CC11-ST451 (15.3%) was the most prevalent CC, particularly in food (14.8%) and animal isolates (17.5%). CC11-ST451, followed by CC7, CC14, and CC37, were the most prevalent CCs in the milk sector, and CC9 and CC8 in the meat sector. CC11-ST451 is probably widely distributed in Slovakia, mainly in the milk and dairy product sectors, posing a possible threat to public health. Potential persistence indication of CC9 was observed in one meat facility between 2014 and 2018, highlighting its general meat-related distribution and potential for persistence worldwide.
Highlights
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive intracellular bacterium responsible for a serious food-borne zoonosis called listeriosis
The vast majority of the isolates (947) were from the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) microbial collection: 603 (61%) isolates were from food, 135 (13.7%) from food-processing environment (FPE), and 209 (21.2%) from animals (40.7% of animal isolates were isolated from sheep; 29.2% from cattle) with clinical manifestations of listeriosis
Clonal Complexes Distribution According to the Compartment and Food Sector
Summary
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive intracellular bacterium responsible for a serious food-borne zoonosis called listeriosis. This pathogen is transmissible to humans through the consumption of contaminated food. Immuno-compromised persons, pregnant women, infants, and the elderly are the most vulnerable to listeriosis (Vazquez-Boland et al, 2001). In 2015–2019, the listeriosis trend in Europe remained stable after a long period of increase but had the highest case-fatality rate (8.9%) among the outbreak-related illness (EFSA and ECDC, 2021). In Slovakia, 18 human listeriosis cases and four deaths were reported in the year 2019, which is 6% above the 5-year average (Slovak Focal Point for the Scientific, and Technical Matters of the Efsa., 2020)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
