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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1975 July; 30(1): 29-32
Copyright © 1975 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Incidence of Listeria monocytogenes in Nature

Tierhygienisches Institut, Freiburg i. Br., and Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie der Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, West Germany

ABSTRACT

During a research project on the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes 194 strains were isolated in southern West Germany during the years 1972 to 1974: 154 from soil and plant samples (20.3%), 16 from feces of deer and stag (15.7%), 9 from old moldy fodder and wildlife feeding grounds (27.2%), and 8 from birds (17.3%). The highest number of isolates was obtained from uncultivated fields. The beta-hemolytic serovars 1/2b and 4b were predominant; other serovars (some of them identified for the first time), including nonhemolyzing strains, have been encountered frequently. It is suggested that Listeria monocytogenes is a saprophytic organism which lives in a plant-soil environment and therefore can be contracted by humans and animals via many possible routes from many sources.