Listeria monocytogenes

Common card · No. 221479

Listeria monocytogenes is the species of pathogenic bacteria that causes the infection listeriosis. It is a facultative anaerobic bacterium, capable of surviving with or without oxygen. It can grow and reproduce inside the host's cells and is one of the most virulent foodborne pathogens. Twenty to thirty percent of foodborne listeriosis infections in high-risk individuals may be fatal. In the European Union, listeriosis continues an upward trend that began in 2008, causing 2,161 confirmed cases and 210 reported deaths in 2014, 16% more than in 2013. In the EU, listeriosis mortality rates also are higher than those of other foodborne pathogens. Responsible for an estimated 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths in the United States annually, listeriosis ranks third in total number of deaths among foodborne bacterial pathogens, with fatality rates exceeding even the infamous Clostridium botulinum. Named for Joseph Lister, Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium, in the phylum Bacillota...

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