Overview of listeriosis in the Southern African Hemisphere—Review

Abstract

Abstract Listeriosis is rarely reported in the Southern African Hemispheres in spite of the increasing rate of Listeria in several foodborne outbreaks reported in advanced countries. This paper reviews the emerging trends in the spread, distribution, and epidemiology of Listeria species in foods, water, human, animals, and different environments in Southern Africa based on the appraisal of scholarly articles. In this regard, information obtained from literatures from various online databases revealed that Listeria species are commonly recovered from food, water, and human samples. Fewer articles provided information on Listeria recovered from animals (ruminants) and soil samples. Generally, reports of studies were more focused on Listeria monocytogenes among other Listeria species. To this end, reports obtained from literature on the method of identification of Listeria were mostly based on serological, classical biochemical methods and the principle of aesculin hydrolysis, usually characterized by black coloration on selective media for Listeria . These methods may not be reliable, as they could sometimes give a false positive report. Therefore, molecular methods are more reliable, accurate, could show the genetic relationship between isolates, and at the same time capable of enabling tracking the source of this pathogen should be embraced as a better substitute for the identification of Listeria in Southern African sub‐region.