Incidence of Listeria monocytogenes and Other Bacteria in Spontaneous Abortion Cases in Jos

The involvement of Listeria monocytogenes in spontaneous abortion in Jos was investigated. One hundred blood and 100 placenta samples were collected from spontaneous abortion patients in Jos. The samples were inoculated first into Listeria enrichment broth. Incubation was at 37o C, followed by cold enrichment at OO C for samples that did not yield any growth at 370 C. Further sub- inoculations were made on Listeria selective agar. In addition, parallel inoculations were also made on blood, chocolate and MacConkey agar media using standard bacteriological methods. Listeria-like organisms were subjected to biochemical and serological investigations using type 1a, 4b and polyvalent sera supplied by Difco laboratories (Detroit, Michigan). Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, and L. monocytogenes were some of the bacteria isolated. They had the following percentage frequencies of occurrence: 40.20, 13.80, 11.50 and 8.04 respectively. L. monocytogenes contributed to the burden of spontaneous abortion in Jos and environs.Keywords: Spontaneous abortion, Listeria, isolation, incidenceNig J. Biotech. Vol. 25 (2013) 18-2