title: Listeria species in domestic environments.
abstract: Using a direct isolation method Listeria spp. were detected in 101 (47.4%) of 213 houses investigated. L. monocytogenes was present in 45 houses (21.1%). Listeria spp. occurred at all sampling sites. Dish-cloths (37%) and surface samples round the drain in the bathroom (27.2%) were most frequently contaminated. Highest numbers (c. 10(4) c.f.u./object) were found in dish-cloths and washing-up brushes. Lower levels (up to 10(3) c.f.u./object) were obtained from kitchen sinks, refrigerator vegetable compartment samples and tooth brushes. In total, 132 isolations of Listeria spp. were made from 871 samples. L. innocua (53%) and L. monocytogenes (41%) were the predominant species in the positive samples. Other Listeria spp. were found in only 6% of the positive samples.
authors.affiliation: Agricultural University, Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Beumer
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: te Giffel
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spoorenberg
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rombouts
mesh_terms: D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006794:Household Articles; D006801:Humans; D008087:Listeria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009426:Netherlands; D011897:Random Allocation