A review on the characteristics, taxanomy and prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium that is commonly isolated from food sources. This opportunistic human pathogen is the causative agent of listeriosis, an illness that mainly effects immunocompromised, the elderly, infants, and pregnant women. Ever since its detection, listeriosis cases has been very prevalent and commonly associated with food sources such as dairy products, ready-to-eat food, and poultry. The prevalence of listeriosis is of public health concern and proper management is required to control this illness from spreading widely. Thus, this review seeks to elucidate a better understanding on the characteristics, taxanomy, prevalence and their associated food sources, as well as management methods in order to devise proper control actions to reduce listeriosis incidence worldwide.