2023-06-08 13:00:00
Listeriosis is a food-borne infection caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Although the disease remains infrequent in France with around 350 to 400 cases per year, it is still the second leading cause of food-related death in the country. This is why it is essential to identify the origin of a contamination. And, ANSES has made significant progress in this area.
Listeriosis: a PCR test identifies strains of Listeria monocytogenes
ANSES has developed a PCR test which makes it possible to quickly identify the strains of Listeria monocytogenes, responsible for foodborne infections. This tool, the cost of which is estimated at less than €10, gives a result in less than a day. “This is an advance over the method usually used, MultiLocus Sequencing Typing (MLST), which requires three to five days of analysis and €150 per strain analyzed”explains ANSES in its communiqué.
“The test we have developed identifies the 30 genetic groups of Listeria monocytogenes, called clonal complexes, most commonly found in food in Europe”adds Benjamin Félix, project manager at ANSES’s food safety laboratory. “Our method is very useful for countries that do not have the financial means to sequencing whole genomes routinely or when a large number of samples have to be analyzed because it allows for a quick first sorting”.
Listeria: the focus of a contamination of several years discovered
The PCR test identifying the strains of Listeria monocytogenesdeveloped by ANSES and other European laboratories (Italy, Hungary, Netherlands), was the subject of a publication in the journal Microbiology Spectrum last May. Several tests have been carried out across Europe. One of them, carried out in the Netherlands, enabled the health authorities to discover the origin of cases of listeriosis which had persisted for several years on Dutch soil.
“Two producers of fish products were suspected of being the source of the contamination. Samples were taken from the points of the factories most at risk of being contaminated, such as cutting machines, trays or Thanks to the speed and low cost of the PCR test, 200 analyzes were carried out to select six strains which were sequenced as a priority, which made it possible to identify the factory at the origin of the contaminations”explains the press release from ANSES.
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