title: Isolation of Listeria monocytogenes from the skin of slaughtered beef cattle.
abstract: We attempted to isolate Listeria monocytogenes from skin, contents of large intestines and carcasses of cattle introduced to a slaughterhouse in order to identify source of contamination for this pathogen. Sixty skin samples, 60 samples of the contents of large intestines and 30 carcass samples were colleted in June, August and November 2003 for use in this study. Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes were isolated from 30 (50%) and 3 (5%) of the cattle skin samples, respectively. However, no Listeria spp., including L. monocytogenes, were isolated from intestinal contents or carcasses. Seven isolates were obtained, of which five and two strains were serotypes 1/2a and 1/2b, respectively. Genetic analysis suggested that there was persistent inhabitation of the pathogen around the area investigated in this study.
authors.affiliation: Iwate Prefectural Meat Inspection Center, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yoshitsugu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsudate
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Segawa
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hondo
authors.forename: Fukiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ueda
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000382:microbiology; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology*