Five New Listeria

According to a study released on March 5 in the International System and Evolutionary Microbiology Research Institute, researchers at Cornell University in the United States have discovered five new species of Listeria monocytogenes and they have no pathogenicity.

Up to now, 10 species of Listeria have been found, of which 2 are pathogenic.

Listeria monocytogenes is the leading cause of bacillus disease. It causes hundreds of deaths and illnesses each year in the United States through the infection of cooked meat, seafood and agricultural products.

The study was part of a large-scale microbiology study where researchers collected samples of fields, soils, ponds, and streams in New York, Colorado, and Florida.

This discovery will help reveal the origin of pathogenicity of Listeria.