Epidemiological burden of Listeria monocytogenes in Iran

Objective(s): Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogenic bacteria causing the infection listeriosis, which possibly affects all people, particularly immunocompromised persons and pregnant women. This microorganism can be found in several processed foods, dairy products, raw milk, meat and fish products, seafoods, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. This review discusses about the epidemiological significance, incidence, contamination routes of L. monocytogenes in different products and current data about listeriosis in the Iran. Materials and Methods: For accessing to relevant articles and studies, a search was done in main databases and also, almost all Iranian published articles were studied in this field.Results: Outbreaks of listeriosis have been reported in many parts of the worldwide, however there is scanty data about the prevalence of listeriosis in Iran. Accordingly, as a result of high incidence of L. monocytogenes in women with bad obstetric history or history of abortions, diagnosis procedures for detection of L. monocytogenes and timely treatment was suggested.Conclusion: In spite of low incidence of infection in the past, increased interest for lightly preserved and/or ready-to-eat (RTE) food products has recently led to increasing of L. monocytogenes prevalence which has become a public health concern. Subsequently, further researches about the prevalence of L. monocytogenes and also antibiotic susceptibility testing is needed to enable the detection of the contaminated foods, as well as ensures the effective treatment.