{"id":35588,"date":"2022-04-01T12:02:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T10:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.proquimia.com\/listeria-monocytogenes\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T14:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:40:04","slug":"listeria-monocytogenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.proquimia.com\/en\/listeria-monocytogenes\/","title":{"rendered":"Listeriosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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\r\n\r\n\"listeriosis\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nListeriosis is an infection caused by the bacterium\u00a0Listeria monocytogenes<\/em><\/strong>. Outbreaks of this disease are generally related to the ingestion of foods containing large amounts of this bacterium.\r\n\r\nIt is a relatively rare disease<\/strong>, since its incidence is quite low compared to other diseases associated with foodborne micro-organisms.\r\n\r\nHowever, Listeriosis is of special interest and concern because in its invasive form it is a serious disease, with very high lethality rates<\/strong> (between 10% and 30%). Moreover, Listeria monocytogenes<\/em>\u00a0is an opportunistic pathogen that almost always affects the population at risk, while in the general population its infection does not usually lead to the development of the disease.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Risk groups:<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n- Pregnant women\r\n\r\n- Newborns\r\n\r\n- People with weakened defences:\r\n\r\no Chronically ill people\r\n\r\no Elderly people\r\n\r\no Persons undergoing certain medical treatments\r\n\r\n\u00b7 The probability of contracting the disease is about 20 times higher in pregnant women than in other healthy adults.\r\n\r\n\u00b7 Patients with HIV\/AIDS are 300 times more likely to suffer from listeriosis than people with a normal immune system.\r\n\r\n\u00b7 People over 65 years of age represent 62% of those affected, with a mortality rate of 19%.\r\n\r\n <\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

Incidence of Listeriosis<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nThe rate of human Listeriosis in the European Union in 2019 has a Prevalence of 0.46 cases per 100,000 people <\/strong>(EFSA 2020).\r\n\r\nThe EU trend of confirmed cases of Listeriosis has remained stable over the last three years (2621 cases in 2019).\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"casos<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTrend in reported confirmed human <\/em>cases of listeriosis in the EU\/EEA, by month, 2009\u2013 2019<\/em>\r\n\r\nOn the other hand, global data (WHO 2018) show low prevalence (0.01-0.1 cases per 100,000 people) but very high mortality (20 - 30%) in susceptible individuals.\r\n

Infective dose<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nThe infective dose is not determined<\/strong> and depends on factors such as strain, host susceptibility (immune status, age,...) or the food matrix involved.\r\n\r\nAccording to a model used by EFSA, 92% of cases of invasive Listeriosis would be attributable to doses above 100,000 colony forming units (CFU) per serving.\r\n\r\nTherefore, assuming an average serving size of 50 g, this would correspond to a concentration of\u00a0Listeria monocytogenes<\/em>\u00a0above 2,000 CFU\/g at the time of consumption.\r\n\r\nHowever, it is likely that less than 1,000 CFU\/g can cause disease in susceptible individuals.\r\n

Incubation period<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nGastroenteritis caused by\u00a0Listeria monocytogenes<\/em>\u00a0has a relatively short incubation period, ranging from a few hours to 2 or 3 days<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nOn the other hand, in the severe, invasive form of the disease, the incubation period is usually 1 to 2 weeks, but can range from a few days to 3 months.\r\n\r\nThis prolonged incubation period makes it difficult to identify the food at the origin of the infection.\r\n

Symptoms of Listeriosis<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nListeriosis causes two forms of disease<\/strong> in humans:\r\n