Prevalence and Virulence Gene Profiling of Listeria monocytogenes from Fish and Meat Samples from Aizawl, Mizoram

This survey aimed to study the occurrence of Listeria species in fish and meat samples and characterization of their virulence genes. Over all, Listeria spp. was found in 25.22% samples out of which 9.0% and 16.21% were L. monocytogenes and L. innocua,respectively. L. monocytogenes (n=10) belonged to 4b, 4d and 4e serovars. All the isolates revealed presence of virulence genes- plcA and iap, while plcB gene was also present in 90% of the isolates. The occurrence of L. monocytogenes in samples shows cogent evidence for their zoonotic potential and has public health significance