Detection of <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> by polymerase chain reaction in intestinal mucosal biopsies from patients with inflammatory bowel disease and controls

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes DNA was detected in the intestine of both patients with IBD and in non-IBD control patients, probably reflecting the widespread presence of this organism in the environment. The low yield of positive biopsies in our IBD patients (5-6%) and the fact that the detection rate of L. monocytogenes DNA was similar in endoscopic biopsies from IBD patients and non-IBD controls does not support a direct role for L. monocytogenes in the pathogenesis of IBD, at least in New Zealand patients.