Control, prevention and public health significance

CONTROL, PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE

Specimens to be collected

  • Visceral form
    • Material from lesions in liver, kidneys or spleen
  • Neural form
    • Spinal fluid, brain stem, and tissue from several sites in the medulla oblongata
  • Abortion
    • Placenta (cotyledon), foetal abomasal contents and/or uterine discharges.
  • Ruminants in early stages of septicaemic listeriosis respond to systemic therapy with ampicillin or amoxicillin.
  • Response to antibiotic therapy may be poor in neural listeriosis although prolonged higher doses of ampicillin or amoxicillin combined with an aminoglycoside may be effective.
  • Ocular listeriosis requires treatment with antibiotics and corticosteroids injected subconjuctivily.
  • Poor quality silage should be avoided. Vaccination with killed vaccines, which do not induce effective cell-mediated immune response, is not protective because L.monocytogenes is an intracellular pathogen. Live, attenuated vaccines, which contain serovars 1/2a, 1/2b, and 4b are reported to reduce the prevalence of listeriosis in sheep.

Public health significance

  • L.monocytogenes causes meningoencephalitis, meningitis, encephalitis and uterine infection with abortion, stillbirths, granulomatosis and valvular endocarditis in humans.
  • The source could be soil, contaminated milk, cheese, meat, vegetables and human carriers.
  • Infection is frequently associated with immuno-compromised persons.
Last modified: Monday, 4 June 2012, 4:49 AM