Premium
Series of incidents of Listeria monocytogenes non‐invasive febrile gastroenteritis involving ready‐to‐eat meats
Author(s) -
Sim J.,
Hood D.,
Finnie L.,
Wilson M.,
Graham C.,
Brett M.,
Hudson J.A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.2002.01207.x
Subject(s) - listeria monocytogenes , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , listeria , bacteria , medicine , genetics
Aims:A series of cases and outbreaks of febrile noninvasive gastrointestinal disease involving 31 identified cases was investigated in terms of the numbers and types ofListeria monocytogenes present in the suspect foods (ready‐to‐eat meats) and clinical samples from cases. Methods and Results:Foods and faecal samples involved in the incidents were tested for the presence and number ofL. monocytogenes. Isolates were typed by macrorestriction analysis using pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis. The foods contained high levels ofL. monocytogenes, in one case 1·8 × 107 g−1. Faecal samples containedL. monocytogenes for up to 15 d after the contaminated food was consumed. All isolates from the food and faecal samples were of serotype 1/2 and were indistinguishable from one another by macrorestriction typing. Conclusions:It is likely that the meats were contaminated either during their manufacture after they had been cooked or by underprocessing. The long shelf lives on these products would have allowed the contaminatingL. monocytogenes to grow to the high numbers measured in this study, causing food poisoning as described. Significance and Impact of the Study: Outbreaks of febrile noninvasive listeriosis are relatively rare. This report adds ready‐to‐eat meats to the range of foods that have acted as vehicles for such outbreaks.