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Page No. : 99-104

ABSTRACT

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating foods contaminated with the bacterium mainly Listeria monocytogenes. Study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes from swab samples collected from small scale butchers from different districts of Punjab. A total of 94 swab samples including 31 from butchers’ hands, 35 from knives and 28 from chopping boards were collected and subjected to isolation of the pathogen. The recovered Listeria isolates were subjected to in vitro pathogenicity assays and also multiplex PCR targeting virulence associated genes (prfA, plcA, actA, hlyA and iap) of L. monocytogenes. A total of 5 (5.3%) swab samples were found positive for L. monocytogenes. All L. monocytogenes isolates exhibited pathogenicity in in-vitro pathogenicity assays as well as possessed all the virulent genes.

Keywords: Butchers, Listeria monocytogenes, pathogenic, prevalence, swabs