Tricoli, M.R.; Massaro, C.; Arrigo, I.; Diquattro, O.; Di Bernardo, F.; Galia, E.; Palermo, M.; Fasciana, T.; Giammanco, A. Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated in Palermo (Sicily and Italy) during the Years 2018–2020 from Severe Cases of Listeriosis. Antibiotics2024, 13, 57.
Tricoli, M.R.; Massaro, C.; Arrigo, I.; Diquattro, O.; Di Bernardo, F.; Galia, E.; Palermo, M.; Fasciana, T.; Giammanco, A. Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated in Palermo (Sicily and Italy) during the Years 2018–2020 from Severe Cases of Listeriosis. Antibiotics 2024, 13, 57.
Tricoli, M.R.; Massaro, C.; Arrigo, I.; Diquattro, O.; Di Bernardo, F.; Galia, E.; Palermo, M.; Fasciana, T.; Giammanco, A. Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated in Palermo (Sicily and Italy) during the Years 2018–2020 from Severe Cases of Listeriosis. Antibiotics2024, 13, 57.
Tricoli, M.R.; Massaro, C.; Arrigo, I.; Diquattro, O.; Di Bernardo, F.; Galia, E.; Palermo, M.; Fasciana, T.; Giammanco, A. Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated in Palermo (Sicily and Italy) during the Years 2018–2020 from Severe Cases of Listeriosis. Antibiotics 2024, 13, 57.
Abstract
Objectives Listeria monocytogenes (LM), the etiological agent of Listeriosis, can cause foodborne zoonosis. In this study, we characterized 23 strains that caused human listeriosis in Palermo (Sicily, Italy) during the period 2018-2020. In addition, we assessed the phenotypic susceptibility of clinical isolates to antibiotics in accordance with EUCAST guidelines. Methods The serogroup was determined by PCR. While MLST and MVLST were identified through the sequencing of housekeeping genes. Finally, susceptibility to antibiotics was assessed by means of the Phoenix automatic system. Results Patients hospitalized with listeriosis were predominantly males (56% vs. 44% of females). The cases were not associated with pregnancy included patients >65 years of age (60%), two of whom were affected by cancer, while cases associated with pregnancy included two pregnant women and three preterm infants. Data collected found that the main pathologies shown by patients were meningitis (60,9%) and bacteremia (39,1%). The LM strains were isolated from blood (52%), cerebrospinal fluid (26%), cerebrospinal fluid + blood (13%), blood + nasal swab (4%), and ascitic fluid (4%). The predominant serogroup was IVb (96%), whereas only one strain belonged to serogroup IIa (4%). Among the strains with serotype 4b, 4d, 4e, ST 2/VT 21 (92%) and ST6/VT19 (4%) were determined, while only isolates with serotype 1/2a, 3a show ST155/VT45 (CC155). Conclusion This study revealed the widespread circulation of a single clinical strain (ST2/VT21) associated with suspected food contamination, demonstrating the importance of carrying out molecular epidemiological surveillance. Our clinical isolates were susceptible to the assayed beta-lactams, in agreement with the literature data.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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