Listeria monocytogenes: Análisis integral de la patogenicidad, resistencia antibiótica y Prevalencia en la cadena alimentaria

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.1052407025

• Palavras-chave: Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, resistencia antimicrobiana, prevalencia, alimentos

• Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, antimicrobial resistance, prevalence, food

• Abstract: Listeriosis is a zoonotic disease caused mainly by the consumption of foods contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Due to its ubiquitous nature, L. monocytogenes can be found in different kinds of foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, raw milk, dairy products, and especially in all those products that are ready for consumption. Human listeriosis is characterized by the following clinical manifestations: gastroenteritis, encephalitis, septicemia, meningitis, and spontaneous abortions in pregnant women. The severity of the disease on the host is related with the pathogenic potential of the microorganism, and this in turn is closely related to the presence of virulence factors that it also has, once the contaminated food is ingested. L. monocytogenes resists low pH, high concentrations of bile salts and the immune response. Likewise, this microorganism has the ability to cross the intestinal epithelium, the blood-brain barrier, the placenta and enter phagocytic and non-phagocytic cells due to the presence of internalins. On the other hand, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to an increase in the appearance of L. monocytogenes strains resistant to antibiotics that are commonly used in the treatment of human listeriosis, which represents a public health problem. Although the determination of L. monocytogenes in foods is mandatory in different countries, information is lacking about the prevalence and incidence of the microorganism, as well as the virulence and resistance profile of the circulating strains, due to their notification not mandatory.