Listeria monocytogenes

Listeriosis is a food poisoning caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). In the United States, an estimated 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year. In Portugal, it is assumed that ume dozen Portuguese is affected by the disease each year. In pregnant women, infection can result in premature birth, severe infections in the newborn, or even stillbirth. Listeriosis primarily affects pregnant women, newborns and adults with compromised immune systems. Healthy adults and children occasionally are infected with L. monocytogenes, but rarely become seriously ill. Babies can be born with listeriosis if their mothers eat contaminated food during pregnancy.
Treatment
A healthy person who is not pregnant usually do not need treatment. The symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks. If the patient is pregnant and begin to suffer from listeriosis, antibiotics can prevent infection of the fetus or newborn. Infants with listeriosis receive the same antibiotics as adults, although using a combination of antibiotics until the physician has relatively certainty of diagnosis.
Prevention
Listeriosis can be prevented by practicing safe food handling (adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America):
- Buy with confidence. Put raw meat in a bag, and place the fish or poultry separate from other foods. Go home immediately after finishing your shopping so that you can store all foods properly;
- Prepare food safely. Wash hands before and after handling food. Wash them well after going to the toilet or changing diapers.
- Wash fruits and vegetables under running water. If possible, use two cutting boards, one for fresh produce and one for raw meat, poultry and seafood. You can also wash your knives and cutting boards in the machine to disinfect them.
- Keep food safely. Cook, refrigerate, or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, fish and ready-to-eat within 2 hours maximum. Make sure your refrigerator is 4 ° C or colder. However, it should be noted that Listeria can grow at refrigerator for issolimpe any spills, especially sauces hot dogs, raw meat or poultry.
- Cook food safely. Use a clean thermometer meat to determine if the food is to be cooked at a safe temperature. The reheating leftovers should be done at least 75 º C. Do not eat undercooked hamburger, and be aware of the risk of food poisoning derived from raw fish (including sushi), clams and oysters.
- Serve food safely. Keep cooked foods hot [& 0 ° C or above] and cold foods and cold [4 ° C or below].
- Follow the labels on food packaging. The labels of food packages provide information about when to use the food and how to store them. Read food labels and safety instructions to follow them will reduce your chances of getting sick with food poisoning.
- When in doubt, it is better to throw away. If you are unsure if a food is safe, do not eat. The recovery of contaminated food does not make them safe. Do not taste food suspects. They may look and smell fine, but may no longer be safe to eat.