Listeria in the lab

摘要

TWENTY years ago, the Public Health Laboratory Service published a report that outlined a sharp rise, followed by a sharp fall, in reported cases of listeriosis across England and Wales. At the time, the exact reasons behind the outbreak were unclear but the subsequent decrease in cases coincided directly with a public health campaign about foodborne Listeria monocytogenes and the risks to certain sectors of the population. Following the success of the campaign, it was noted within the Communicable Disease Report that: "There is no cause for complacency, however, because the reasons for these changes are poorly understood. A new risk factor may emerge or warnings about high risk foods may be increasingly disregarded as the media publicity wanes; the trends could, therefore, reverse again."