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Food Standards Agency - FS101063 Source Attribution of Listeriosis in the UK.

Descriptions

Reducing the risk of listeriosis to humans is a strategic priority for the FSA. In the UK there are currently around 180 cases of listeriosis reported each year. Listeriosis is most commonly reported in pregnant women, neonates and people with underlying medical conditions particularly those aged over 60 years, with food being the main transmission route. However, listeria is widely distributed in the environment and can be found in soil, decaying vegetation and fodder and is also found in ruminants. Although infection acquired directly from animals is possible, cases reporting animal contact are rare. Recent outbreaks of listeriosis in the UK have been associated with the consumption of sandwiches supplied to hospitals. Other identified sources of listeria include ready to eat foods, cheese and smoked salmon. The aim of this work is to examine whether the source of listeriosis infections in the UK can be attributed based on genome sequencing. As there have been recent advances in the throughput and cost of whole or partial genome sequencing this could mean that routine sequencing of organisms is a realistic prospect (e.g. as conducted in recent outbreaks of E. coli O104 in Germany and Salmonella Montevideo in the US). Due to the modest size of the annual UK burden of listeriosis cases it is thought it would be feasible to use current sequencing strategies to open up the possibility of identifying the source attribution of listeria on a population basis.