Differences in Listeria monocytogenes contamination of rural Ohio residences with and without livestock.
To determine the contribution of on-site livestock to the environmental contamination of rural households with Listeria monocytogenes, a total of 1779 environmental and food samples were collected from 26 ruminant-farm households and 26 rural households in Ohio. L. monocytogenes isolates were identified and differentiated using sequence comparisons of the intragenic regions of inlB and inlC. L. monocytogenes was isolated from shoes, 9.6% (20/208); utility gloves, 5.4% (6/111); kitchen sinks, 1.5% (3/204); washing machines, 0.96% (2/204); food, 1.11% (7/631); and animal feces, 8.7% (9/104), over the course of four household visits at monthly intervals. Notably, L. monocytogenes-contaminated shoes were identified more frequently from ruminant farmhouses than from rural households that did not raise ruminants on site (odds ratio = 4.8). L. monocytogenes isolated from animal feces was indistinguishable from strains recovered from shoes and gloves stored in several homes. Our results highlight the potential of the rural household environment as source of L. monocytogenes exposure.
Kersting
Ann L
AL
Food Animal Health Research Program, The Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio 44691-4096, USA.
Medeiros
Lydia C
LC
LeJeune
Jeffrey T
JT
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D041381:Diapers, Infant / Q000382:microbiology; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005516:Food Microbiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006794:Household Articles; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009820:Ohio; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012418:Ruminants / Q000382:microbiology*; D012424:Rural Population
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C095768:inlB protein, Listeria monocytogenes; C103178:inlC protein, Listeria monocytogenes