Listeriosis surveillance and the Listeria Initiative
Listeriosis, a serious infection caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, has been nationally reportable since 2000. Reports of listeriosis are submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via the Nationally Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). Since 2004, EDEB has been collecting surveillance data on listeriosis cases in states participating in the Listeria Initiative using the Listeria Case Report PDF - 379KB , a standard report form developed to collect detailed information about food exposures. Additional surveillance data concerning listeriosis incidence rates are available in FoodNet reports.
The Listeria Initiative is an effort to aid in investigations of future Listeria outbreaks and clusters. States participating in the Listeria Initiative conduct prompt interviews of patients using the Listeria Case Report PDF - 379KB . The information is maintained in a central database. When PulseNet, the National Molecular Subtyping Network for Foodborne Disease Surveillance, identifies a cluster of Listeria monocytogenes patient isolates with the same molecular pattern, epidemiologists can conduct a preliminary case-control analysis by comparing responses to food exposures reported on the Listeria Case Report PDF - 379KB from patients in the cluster to those from patients outside the cluster.
All isolates of Listeria should be promptly submitted for subtypisng to state or national laboratories. Public health professionals should consider participating in the Listeria Initiative.
- Listeria Case Report (PDF - 379KB)
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Content Source: National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)