Focusing on the main morphological and physiological characteristics of the food-borne pathogen <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>

The genus Listeria spp includes fifteen species, i.e. L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii, L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. seeligeri, L. grayi, L. marthii, L. rocourtiae, L. fleichmannii, L. weihenstephanensis, L. floridensis, L. aquatic, L. cornellensis, L. riparia and L. grandensis. Members of the genus Listeria are small Gram-positive rods sometimes arranged in short chains, ranging between 0.5 and 4 μm in diameter and between 0.5 and 2 μm in length. They are non-sporeforming and facultative anaerobic. Peritrichous flagella give them a typical tumbling motility, occurring at room temperature (20-25°C), but not at 37°C. Out of the fifteen species, L. monocytogenes is the major pathogen for humans. Very rare cases of infections due to L. ivanovii and L. seeligeri have been described

Inaccuracy of Labeling and Visual Inspection for Microsporidian Parasites in Anglerfish Lophius litulon (Jordan, 1902) Collected from Chinese Retail Markets in Sardinia, Italy.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy of labeling and the efficacy of visual inspection to detect the lesions by visible parasites in anglerfish Lophius litulon. One hundred samples were collected over a 2-year period (2011 to 2012) from Chinese retail markets in Sardinia, Italy. To assess the conformity of the items with the trade name, a preliminary visual inspection of the samples by a simple morphological analysis was performed. According to the Council Regulations (EC) 104/2000, 1224/2009, and 2074/2005, the Italian labels were examined to verify the appropriate indication of relevant information on traceability (trade name, scientific name, geographical area, and production method), and the samples of L. litulon were subjected to visual inspection to detect "visible parasites." Altogether, a high percentage of mismatching (70%) between the scientific name and trade name was pointed out. Moreover, 60% of the samples were visibly infected by Spraguea lophii, a microsporidian parasite of the nervous tissue that forms typical lesions (xenomas) in the fish flesh near the vertebral column. Although S. lophii is not pathogenic to humans, the presence of xenomas can decompose the fish flesh and render it unfit for human consumption. The high percentage of mislabeling, together with the inaccuracy in the visual inspection by Chinese food business operators highlighted the need to improve the European Union control system of fishery products imported from China and marketed in Europe

Listeria monocytogenes in Five Sardinian Swine Slaughterhouses: Prevalence, Serotype, and Genotype Characterization

In a 3-year study (2008 to 2011) to estimate the prevalence and the contamination sources of Listeria monocytogenes in pork meat in Sardinia, Italy, 211 samples were collected from five Sardinian swine slaughterhouses: 171 samples from slaughtered pigs and 40 from the slaughterhouse environment. Fifty L. monocytogenes isolates were characterized by PCR-based serotyping, presence of virulence-associated genes, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis restriction analysis. The overall prevalence of L. monocytogenes was 33% in swine carcasses, 7% in cecal material, 23% on meat contact surfaces, and 25% on noncontact surfaces. Only two serotypes were detected: 1/2c (78%) and 1/2a (22%). In all, based on the presence of virulence-associated genes, eight pathogenic profiles were detected. Only 42% of all isolates carried the full complement of virulence-associated genes and were allotted to profile 1. Six pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles persisted in the slaughterhouses; restriction profiles appeared to be specific to each plant

Use of multi-locus sequencing typing as identification method for the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes: a review

Listeria monocytogenes is an ubiquitous, intracellular pathogen which has been implicated within the past decade as the causative organism in several outbreaks of foodborne diseases. In this review, a new approach to molecular typing primarily designed for global epidemiology has been described: multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST). This approach is novel, in that it uses data that allow the unambiguous characterization of bacterial strains via the Internet. Our aim is to present the currently available selection of references on L. monocytogenes MLST detection methods and to discuss its use as gold standard to L. monocytogenes subtyping method

COVID-19 rehabilitation units are twice as expensive as regular rehabilitation units

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant motor, cognitive, psychological, neurological and cardiological disabilities in many infected patients. Functional rehabilitation of infectious COVID-19 patients has been implemented in the acute care wards and in appropriate, ad hoc, multidisciplinary COVID-19 rehabilitation units. However, because COVID-19 rehabilitation units are a clinical novelty, clinical and organizational benchmarks are not yet available. The aim of this study is to describe the organizational needs and operational costs of such a unit, by comparing its activity, organization, and costs with 2 other functional rehabilitation units, in San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. Methods: The 2-month activity of the COVID-19 Rehabilitation Unit at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy, which was created in response to the emergency need for rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients, was compared with the previous year's activity of the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Motor Rehabilitation Units of the same institute. Results: The COVID-19 Rehabilitation Unit had the same number of care beds as the other units, but required twice the amount of staff and instrumental equipment, leading to a deficit in costs. Discussion: The COVID-19 Rehabilitation Unit was twice as expensive as the 2 other units studied. World health systems are organizing to respond to the pandemic by expanding capacity in acute intensive care and sub-intensive care units. This study shows that COVID-19 rehabilitation units must be organized and equiped according to the clinical and rehabilitative needs of patients, following specific measures to prevent the spread of infection amongs patients and workers

T2* Heterogeneity detected by CMR could be Related to Myocardial Iron Distribution in Thalassemia Patients

A large percentage of thalassemia major (TM) patients shows a significant heterogeneity of segmental distribution of T2* values in myocardium, measured by multislice multiecho T2* cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). This finding is in agreement with previous histological studies that have detected heterogeneous iron deposition in hemochromatotic hearts. However, it is not yet clear if that represented true heterogeneous iron density or if it could have been generated by geometric and susceptibility artefacts

Shelf-life of Halal fresh and minced beef meat packaged under modified atmosphere

The shelf-life of Halal fresh cut and minced beef meat, packaged under modified atmosphere (MAP) was evaluated. The microbial profile of the carcasses intended for cutting and mincing was investigated by detecting spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. Samples of diced meat (DM), marrowbones (MB), steaks (S) and minced meat (MM) were packaged in MAP (66.0% O2, 25.0% CO2 and 9.0% N2) and stored at +2 and +8°C. At 0, 7 and 14 days, gas composition of headspace was measured. Moreover, in all the samples colony count at 30°C, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Pseudomonas spp. were determined. The carcasses contamination was in compliance with the criteria fixed by EC Reg. 2073/2005. Gas composition of the headspace changed significantly during the storage, mainly at +8°C, where a significant decrease of O2 (until 0.1-0.6%) and an increase of CO2 (until 81.0-89.0%) were recorded. This could be related to the level of LAB and Pseudomonas spp. Less significant changes were observed at +2°C. At 7 days of storage colony count, mean values were higher than >107 CFU/g in the samples at +8°C, and also at 14 days at +2°C, presumably due to the high levels of Pseudomonas spp., that was dominant at the end of the test. Overall, the microbial mean counts were higher than those detected in similar products packaged under vacuum. In order to extend the shelf-life of the fresh meat and meat preparations, differentiated gas mixtures, and particularly a higher percentage of CO2, could be employed