Surveillance of Fresh Artisanal Cheeses Revealed High Levels of Listeria monocytogenes Contamination in the Department of Quindío, Colombia.

Elizabeth Jaramillo-Bedoya,Iván Darío Ocampo-Ibáñez,Yenny Alexandra Trujillo-Alzate

doi:10.3390/pathogens10101341

Elizabeth Jaramillo-Bedoya, Iván Darío Ocampo-Ibáñez + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10101341

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Abstract

Listeriosis is a foodborne disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Because outbreaks of listeriosis are associated with the ingestion of contaminated dairy products, surveillance of artisanal cheeses to detect the presence of this microorganism is necessary. We collected three types of artisanal non-acid fresh cheese (Campesino, Costeño, and Cuajada) from 12 municipalities of the Department of Quindío, Colombia. L. monocytogenes was identified using VIDAS® and confirmed with API® Listeria Rapid Kit. L. monocytogenes was detected in 104 (53.6%) of the 194 artisanal fresh-cheese samples analyzed. The highest percentages of contamination were detected in Salento (90.9%), Calracá (65.5%), Armenia (64.9%), and Filandia (50%). A significant association between municipality and contamination with L. monocytogenes was identified. However, no association could be established between the type of cheese and the occurrence of the bacterium. This is the first study on the presence of L. monocytogenes in artisanal fresh cheeses sold in the municipalities of the Department of Quindío, and the findings revealed very high percentages of contaminated samples. The presence of L. monocytogenes in artisanal cheeses remains a public health threat in developing countries, especially Colombia, where existing legislation does not require the surveillance of L. monocytogenes in food.

Highlights

Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious foodborne disease in humans that can occur in a non-invasive or an invasive form [1]
In recent years, some listeriosis outbreaks involving a few cases have been documented in different regions of Colombia, namely 19 confirmed cases of invasive listeriosis in Cali in 1999, a 9-year-old boy with manifestation of listeriosis-related meningitis in 2009, two cases confirmed by laboratory tests in Nariño in 2017, four cases in Bogotá in 2018, and three cases of L. monocytogenes infection in Antioquia in 2019 [8,9,10]
This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the presence of L. monocytogenes in three typical Colombian artisanal fresh cheeses sold in the municipalities of the Department of Quindío during 2021

Summary

Introduction

Listeria monocytogenes is an intracellular Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious foodborne disease in humans that can occur in a non-invasive or an invasive form [1]. Many outbreaks of listeriosis associated with the ingestion of contaminated food have been reported globally in different regions and countries, including the United States and several nations in South America, Europe, and Africa [2,4,5,6]. Among them was a large-scale and deadly outbreak that occurred in South Africa between and 2018 owing to the ingestion of processed meat contaminated with L. monocytogenes [4,7]. This was the largest listeriosis outbreak to date, with more than 1000 cases and approximately 200 deaths [4,7]. In recent years, some listeriosis outbreaks involving a few cases have been documented in different regions of Colombia, namely 19 confirmed cases of invasive listeriosis in Cali in 1999, a 9-year-old boy with manifestation of listeriosis-related meningitis in 2009, two cases confirmed by laboratory tests in Nariño in 2017, four cases in Bogotá in 2018, and three cases of L. monocytogenes infection in Antioquia in 2019 [8,9,10]

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