Listeriosis in a peri-urban area: Cultural and molecular characterization of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from encephalitic goats

Listeriosis in food animals bears a significant threat to human health. Detailed investigations into the cause facilitate proper management of the disease. This study reports the cultural, pathological, and molecular characterization of isolated from encephalitic goats from peri-urban Guwahati, Assam. Out of nine suspected samples, five positive isolates of were subjected to bacteriological, biochemical, and molecular tests. The genus and species-specific and genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to yield 1200 and 370 bp sized products, respectively. The encephalitic form of the disease was characterized by circling movement, high fever, and terminal recumbence. All the five isolates were confirmed to be based on PCR amplification of genus and species-specific and gene products. The isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, oxytetracycline (OTC), and norfloxacin, but resistant to doxycycline and erythromycin. A high dose of OTC was used in a goat at the early stage of clinical symptom and the animal recovered clinically. Listeriosis in goats could pose a significant public health threat as the meat (occasionally milk) or meat products from goats are widely consumed by the people of Assam. Understanding the molecular epidemiological aspects of infections of food animal species should, therefore, be the priority in this part of the country.