On the mathematical modelling and analysis of Listeriosis from contaminated food products

Abstract

Listeriosis is a foodborne disease caused by a bacterium known as Listeria monocytogenes. Humans can be infected by consuming contaminated food products. A transmission can also occur through contact with infected animals or people, however to a less extent. In this paper, a mathematical model for Listeriosis dynamics was developed. The steady states and their stability of the model system were determined and analyzed. The result shows that the disease free equilibrium is asymptotically stable if the bacteria growth rate is less than its removal rate, and also the growth rate of food contamination is less than its removal rate. It was further observed that we can still have Listeriosis driven by the contaminated food products even if the Listeria bacteria population in the environment is very small. The results indicate that Listeriosis can be effectively controlled by removing contaminated food products, which was the policy adopted by the South African government during the recent Listeriosis outbreak.