Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Classification
Gram-Positive Non-Spore-Forming
Bacilli
Medically important genera:
Listeria monocytogenes
Corynebacterium
Mycobacterium
Actinomycetes
Nocardia
1. Listeria monocytogenes
General Characteristics
Small gram-positive rods arranged in single or short chains
Non-spore-forming, non-acid fast and don not branch
beta-hemolytic
Catalse-positive, oxidase negative
Motile: 1-4 flagella
No capsules
Facultative anaerob
Ferment glucose
Resistant to cold, heat, salt, pH extremes and bile
Multiply at refrigerator temperatures (4oC)
Virulence attributed to ability to replicate in the cytoplasm of
cells after inducing phagocytosis; avoids humoral immune system
Epidemiology
one of the most virulent food-borne pathogens, with 20 to 30
percent of clinical infections resulting in death
Primary reservoir is soil , water; animal intestinal tract of mammals
& birds (especially chickens)
Can contaminate foods and grow during refrigeration
Transmission:
6. Antibiotics sensitivity:
Antibiotics resistance is rare, routine sensitivity testing is not
indicated