Antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes serogroups IIa and IVb from food and food-production environments in Poland

Abstract

Introduction Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen responsible for human listeriosis, which is a disease with high hospitalisation and mortality rates. The bacteria are usually susceptible to most antibacterial substances, but resistance to some of them has been recently observed. The present study introduces the evidence on the emergence of antibiotic resistance among L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food and food-production environments in Poland. Material and Methods A total of 283 L. monocytogenes isolates classified into serogroups IIa and IVb which had been recovered from food and food production environments were tested with 17 antimicrobials. These included those that are recommended for treatment of severe listeriosis cases in humans. A multiplex PCR was used to identify serogroups, and a microbroth dilution method was applied for the determination of antibiotic resistance among the isolates tested. Results Only 34 (12.0%) strains were susceptible to all the antimicrobials used in the study. The remaining 249 (88.0%) strains displayed different instances of resistance to the antimicrobials tested, from insusceptibility to one (112 strains; 39.6%) to resistance to four antibacterial substances (6 strains; 2.1%). Among them, there were 38 strains (13.4%) with multiresistance patterns. Conclusion Polish food and its processing environments may be a potential source of antimicrobial-resistant L. monocytogenes, which may pose a potential health risk to consumers in the country.

A Mini-Review of Anti-Listerial Compounds from Marine Actinobacteria (1990–2023)

“…Prior to initiating treatment, it is imperative to conduct an in vitro assessment of the antimicrobial drugs used against the clinical Listeria isolates from a patient [60]. This is because there has been an increase in reports of antimicrobial-resistant L. monocytogenes strains from diverse sources such as meat and meat products [6,7], humans [9,61], animals [9,18,62], and food processing establishments [18,63]. The first strain of L. monocytogenes found to possess acquired antimicrobial resistance was a clinical isolate from France in 1988 [9,64,65].…”

Subinhibitory concentrations of glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. reduce Listeria monocytogenes motility and hemolytic activity but do not exhibit antimicrobial activity

“…The abuse or overuse of antibiotics has led to a rapid increase in the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria ( Mesa-Ramos et al, 2024 ). Although current antibiotic strategies are still effective options for the treatment of listeriosis ( Kumaraswamy et al, 2018 ), the emergence of multidrug-resistant L. monocytogenes isolates from river water, traditionally consumed food products, and human clinical specimens has been documented since the isolation of the first multiresistant strain of L. monocytogenes in France in 1988 ( Poyart-Salmeron et al, 1990 ; Harakeh et al, 2009 ; Soni et al, 2013 ), and the prevalence rate is increasing in China and other countries ( Lachtara et al, 2023 ; Zhang et al, 2024 ). Therefore, developing new drugs and alternative intervention approaches for the treatment of listeriosis has become imperative.…”