Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from pregnant women with and without history of abortion and detection of hemolysin (hlyA) gene in clinical samples

Background and Aim: Abortion is one of the most important medical problems which imposes a high cost on the households. Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important causes of abortion and postpartum infection in the newborns. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in the pregnant women and compare its prevalence rates between women with and without a history of abortion in Tehran and also prevalence of hlyA virulence gene. Materials and Method: In this cross sectional study, from May 2016 to December 2016 clinical samples of vaginal discharge were taken from pregnant women with and without a history of abortion. All of the samples (100 sample) were collected from the patients referring to Arash Hospital in Tehran, by a gynecologist. The women filled out a questionnaire. The pregnant women who had received antibiotic were excluded from the study. All samples were transferred to the microbiological lab, rapidly. Results: After culture and differential tests, among 100 sample we isolated Listeria from 7 % (7 strains) of the samples (4 strains of L .monocytogenesis and 3 strains of Listeria seeligeri). In the samples taken from pregnant women with a history of abortion we found 3 stains of L.monocytogenes and one strain of Listeria seeligeri. In the samples obtained from pregnant women without a history of abortion one stains of L .monocytogenes and 2 strains of Listeria seeligeri were detected. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in the pregnant women with a history of abortion is more than that in the pregnant women without a history of abortion. Despite the fact that this bacterium was not confirmed as a major cause of abortion in our study, but it may expose pregnant women to the risk of this problem