What Can We Do to Prevent Listeriosis in 2006?

this bacterium a serious threat to susceptible consumers. In outbreaks, the vehicle of transmission is usually a highly contaminated, ready-to-eat food. However, in sporadic cases, different foods could be implicated, and factors such as the duration and conditions of storage, food handling, and modes of food preparation can influence the frequency and level of contamination. In this issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Varma et al. [1] studied the food preferences associated with 169 cases of sporadic listeriosis. Their study shows that the disease is associated with the consumption of hummus prepared in a commercial establishment and with eating melon at a commercial establishment. However, contamination by these foods