Abstract
Almost all cases of human listeriosis are foodborne, however the proportion where specific exposures are identified is small. Between 1981 and 2015, 5252 human listeriosis cases were reported in England and Wales. The purpose of this study was to summarise data where consumption of specific foods was identified with transmission and these comprised 11 sporadic cases and 17 outbreaks. There was a single outbreak in the community of 378 cases (7% of the total) which was associated with pâté consumption and 112 cases (2% of the total) attributed to specific foods in all the other incidents. The proportion of food-attributed cases increased during this study with improvements in typing methods for Listeria monocytogenes. Ten incidents (one sporadic case and nine outbreaks of 2-9 cases over 4 days to 32 months) occurred in hospitals: all were associated with the consumption of pre-prepared sandwiches. The 18 community incidents comprised eight outbreaks (seven of between 3 and 17 cases) and 10 sporadic cases: food of animal origin was implicated in 16 of the incidents (sliced or potted meats, pork pies, pâté, liver, chicken, crab-meat, butter and soft cheese) and food of non-animal origin in the remaining two (olives and vegetable rennet).
Highlights
Listeriosis is predominantly a foodborne illness caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes which is recognised as a major foodborne pathogen and is the most common cause of death from foodborne illness in the European Union [1]
A case of listeriosis was defined as a person with an illness clinically compatible with a diagnosis of listeriosis with the isolation of L. monocytogenes, usually from a normally sterile anatomical site
This report highlights the importance of submission of L. monocytogenes isolates from clinical cases of listeriosis for characterisation which is essential to establish foodborne links
Summary
Listeriosis is predominantly a foodborne illness caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes which is recognised as a major foodborne pathogen and is the most common cause of death from foodborne illness in the European Union [1]. Following consumption of contaminated food, the disease has a low attack rate and a variable (1–90 days) incubation period [4, 5]. Cases occur both sporadically or as outbreaks. Because of national and international food distribution chains, cases in outbreaks related to common food exposures can be both temporally and geographically widely distributed. There are difficulties in linking specific foods to infection. Because of the difficulties outlined above in investigating human listeriosis and identifying the appropriate interventions in the food chain, the proportion of all the cases where a specific exposure is identified is very small. It is important to consolidate data from both outbreaks and sporadic cases to provide a better understanding of control of this disease
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