Abstract
Listeria species are Gram-positive, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic bacteria, which do not produce endospores. The genus, Listeria, currently comprises 17 characterised species of which only two (L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii) are known to be pathogenic to humans. Food products and related processing environments are commonly contaminated with pathogenic species. Outbreaks and sporadic cases of human infections resulted in considerable economic loss. South Africa witnessed the world’s largest listeriosis outbreak, characterised by a progressive increase in cases of the disease from January 2017 to July 2018. Of the 1060 laboratory-confirmed cases of listeriosis reported by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), 216 deaths were recorded. Epidemiological investigations indicated that ready-to-eat processed meat products from a food production facility contaminated with L. monocytogenes was responsible for the outbreak. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed that a large proportion (91%) of the isolates from patients were sequence type 6 (ST6). Recent studies revealed a recurrent occurrence of small outbreaks of listeriosis with more severe side-effects in humans. This review provides a comparative analysis of a recently reported and most severe outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa, with those previously encountered in other countries worldwide. The review focuses on the transmission of the pathogen, clinical symptoms of the disease and its pathogenicity. The review also focuses on the major outbreaks of listeriosis reported in different parts of the world, sources of contamination, morbidity, and mortality rates as well as cost implications. Based on data generated during the outbreak of the disease in South Africa, listeriosis was added to the South African list of mandatory notifiable medical conditions. Surveillance systems were strengthened in the South African food chain in order to assist in preventing and facilitating early detection of both sporadic cases and outbreaks of infections caused by these pathogens in humans.
Highlights
Listeria was reported for the first time in 1924 by Murray and colleagues due to the sudden deaths of six young rabbits and was named Bacterium monocytogenes [1]
This review provides a comparative analysis of a recently reported and most severe outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa, with those previously encountered in other countries worldwide
Based on data generated during the outbreak of the disease in South Africa, listeriosis was added to the South African list of mandatory notifiable medical conditions
Summary
Listeria was reported for the first time in 1924 by Murray and colleagues due to the sudden deaths of six young rabbits and was named Bacterium monocytogenes [1]. Listeria species are widespread in nature; among them, L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are human pathogens, causative agents of listeriosis [9,10]. Listeriosis caused by L. monocytogenes is a severe disease with a mortality rate of 20–30% [11] This foodborne disease affects numerous individuals worldwide with a high fatality rate [1]. Due to its ubiquitous and widespread nature, it was found in diverse natural environments such as plants, soil, silage, animals, sewage, and water Contaminated food such as vegetables, dairy products, red meat, poultry, and seafood are implicated as sources of infection [13,14]. Sporadic and epidemic incidents of listeriosis were reported due to the consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, dairy products, seafood, pre-cooked or frozen meat, pork, and fresh produce. There is, a high risk of food contamination, which can cause severe clinical health effects in humans
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