Tricoli Maria Rita, Massaro Chiara, Arrigo Ignazio, Diquattro Orazia, Di Bernardo Francesca, Galia Elena, Palermo Mario, Fasciana Teresa, Giammanco Anna
Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialities, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Laboratory of Microbiology, A. O. Ospedali Riuniti "Villa Sofia-Cervello", 90100 Palermo, Italy.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2024 Jan 6;13(1):57. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics13010057.
(LM), the etiological agent of listeriosis, can cause foodborne zoonosis. In this study, we characterized 23 strains that caused human severe listeriosis in Palermo (Sicily, Italy) during the period of 2018-2020. In addition, we assessed the phenotypic susceptibility of clinical isolates to antibiotics in accordance with EUCAST guidelines. The serogroup was determined through the use of PCR, while MLST and MVLST were identified through the sequencing of housekeeping genes. Finally, susceptibility to antibiotics was assessed by means of the Phoenix automatic system. Patients hospitalized with listeriosis were predominantly males (56% vs. 44% of females). The cases not associated with pregnancy included patients >65 years of age (60%), two of whom were affected by cancer, while cases associated with pregnancy included two pregnant women and three preterm infants. The data collected showed that the main pathologies shown by patients were meningitis (60.9%) and bacteremia (39.1%). The LM strains were isolated from the blood (52%), cerebrospinal fluid (26%), cerebrospinal fluid + blood (13%), blood + a nasal swab (4%), and ascitic fluid (4%). The predominant serogroup was IVb (96%), whereas only one strain belonged to serogroup IIa (4%). Among the strains with serotypes 4b, 4d, and 4e, ST2/VT21 (92%) and ST6/VT19 (4%) were determined, while only isolates with serotypes 1/2a and3a show ST155/VT45 (CC155). This study reveals the widespread circulation of a clinical strain (ST2/VT21) associated with suspected food contamination, demonstrating the importance of carrying out molecular epidemiological surveillance. Our clinical isolates were susceptible to the beta-lactams assayed, in agreement with the literature data.
李斯特菌病的病原体单核细胞增生李斯特菌（LM）可引发食源性人畜共患病。在本研究中，我们对2018年至2020年期间在意大利西西里岛巴勒莫市导致人类严重李斯特菌病的23株菌株进行了特征分析。此外，我们根据欧洲抗菌药物敏感性试验委员会（EUCAST）指南评估了临床分离株对抗生素的表型敏感性。通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）确定血清群，通过管家基因测序鉴定多位点序列分型（MLST）和多位点可变数目串联重复序列分型（MVLST）。最后，使用菲尼克斯自动系统评估对抗生素的敏感性。因李斯特菌病住院的患者以男性为主（56%，女性为44%）。与妊娠无关的病例包括年龄>65岁的患者（60%），其中两人患有癌症，而与妊娠相关的病例包括两名孕妇和三名早产儿。收集的数据显示，患者表现出的主要病症为脑膜炎（60.9%）和菌血症（39.1%）。LM菌株从血液（52%）、脑脊液（26%）、脑脊液+血液（13%）、血液+鼻拭子（4%）和腹水（4%）中分离得到。主要血清群为IVb（96%），而只有一株属于血清群IIa（4%）。在血清型为4b、4d和4e的菌株中，确定了ST2/VT21（92%）和ST6/VT19（4%），而只有血清型为1/2a和3a的分离株显示为ST155/VT45（克隆复合体155）。本研究揭示了与疑似食品污染相关的临床菌株（ST2/VT21）的广泛传播，证明了开展分子流行病学监测的重要性。我们的临床分离株对所检测的β-内酰胺类抗生素敏感，与文献数据一致。
