Which bacterium is responsible for Listeriosis?

Which bacterium is responsible for Listeriosis?

• A. Staphylococcus aureus
• B. Listeria Monocytogenes
• C. Salmonella Enterica
• D. Escherichia coli

Answer: (B)

Listeriosis is caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a gram-positive bacterium that can grow in refrigerated foods. This ability to multiply at low temperatures sets it apart from many other foodborne pathogens and explains why it’s a concern with items like soft cheeses, unpasteurized milk, and deli meats. Infection can be mild in healthy people, but it poses serious risk to pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, potentially leading to meningitis or septicemia. The bacterium’s virulence factors, including internalins that help it invade host cells and listeriolysin O that lets it escape from phagosomes, enable this invasive disease. Other bacteria listed cause different illnesses (for example, Staphylococcus aureus causes toxin-mediated food poisoning, Salmonella causes gastroenteritis, and various Escherichia coli strains cause diarrhea or dysentery) and are not responsible for listeriosis.

Listeriosis is caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a gram-positive bacterium that can grow in refrigerated foods. This ability to multiply at low temperatures sets it apart from many other foodborne pathogens and explains why it’s a concern with items like soft cheeses, unpasteurized milk, and deli meats.

Infection can be mild in healthy people, but it poses serious risk to pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, potentially leading to meningitis or septicemia. The bacterium’s virulence factors, including internalins that help it invade host cells and listeriolysin O that lets it escape from phagosomes, enable this invasive disease.

Other bacteria listed cause different illnesses (for example, Staphylococcus aureus causes toxin-mediated food poisoning, Salmonella causes gastroenteritis, and various Escherichia coli strains cause diarrhea or dysentery) and are not responsible for listeriosis.