A monoclonal antibody based diagnostic assay for listeria infections

• Main Author: Narayanan, Neena
• Published: University of Strathclyde 2008
• Subjects: 579.37
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.502287

Listeriosis is a disease of relatively high mortality mainly caused by the pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes and is a danger primarily in newborn and unborn infants, pregnant women, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. L. monocytogenes is ubiquitous in the environment. It I can be isolated in soil, wood and decaying matter; the principal route of infection is through the ingestion of contaminated food products. Listeria has been isolated from prepared meat (hot dogs, deli meat), dairy products, unwashed raw vegetables, and seafood. Al present there is no rapid-culture immunoassay for detecting all pathogenic Listeria species (regardless of cell viability) due to the limitations of flagellar antigen targets of most antibody-based systems.