Post-parturient shedding of Listeria monocytogenes in breast milk of infected mice Listeria monocytogenes shed in murine milk

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to develop an animal model to study Listeria monocytogenes infection during the peri-parturient period and identify sources of maternal shedding of the pathogen. Peri-parturient mice were infected intragastrically with L. monocytogenes that expressed bacterial luciferase. Mice were then imaged in vivo over time. Secreted breast milk samples from mice infected after parturition were enriched and plated for culture and imaging. Bioluminescence imaging technology was able to detect luciferase emitting L. monocytogenes in vaginal secretions and maternal and fetal organs at 72 and 96 h post infection in mice infected prior to, or just after, parturition. The results from this study clearly show that L. monocytogenes is shed in vaginal secretions and disseminates to the mammary chain, from which it can be shed in the milk of peri-parturient mice.

Pathogenicity and virulence of Listeria monocytogenes: A trip from environmental to medical microbiology

“…In ruminants, abortion is usually late term [ 1 , 276 , 306 ], and although less frequently reported, mastitis has been associated with L. monocytogenes infection [ 328 ]. Peri-parturient mice infected intragastrically with L. monocytogenes shed the pathogen in vaginal secretions, facilitating its dissemination to the mammary chain, from which it is shed in the milk of peri-parturient mice [ 329 ]. The incubation period for septicemic/abortive listeriosis can be as short as 1 day, but in rhombencephalitis it is usually 2–3 weeks, mainly because L. monocytogenes invades the brainstem via cranial nerves after breaching of the oral mucosa [ 1 ].…”