Molecular Pathogenicity and Clinical Manifestations of Listeriosis in Small Ruminants: A Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57038/usjas.v10i01.8060Keywords:
Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria ivanovii, small ruminants, zoonosis.Abstract
Listeriosis is an important infectious disease of goats, sheep, and other ruminants, caused mainly by Listeria monocytogenes and occasionally by Listeria ivanovii in small ruminants. In goats and sheep, the major clinical manifestations include rhombencephalitis or meningoencephalitis, abortion, stillbirth, neonatal septicemia, mastitis, and, rarely, ocular or gastrointestinal disease. The pathogenic potential of listeriosis-associated isolates depends on the interaction between bacterial genotype, conserved virulence genes, environmental adaptability, infectious dose, route of infection, pregnancy status, mucosal damage, and host immunity. Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that binds to and invades host cells, escapes from the phagosome through listeriolysin O and phospholipases, replicates within the cytosol, and spreads from cell to cell through ActA-mediated actin-based motility. These mechanisms enable the bacterium to evade the host immune response, invade the placenta and fetus, cause septicemia, and reach the nervous system. Studying naturally isolated strains from the brainstem, fetal-placental tissues, milk, feces, silage, farms, and farm environments is essential for understanding the relationship between molecular virulence and the ecology of host–pathogen interactions.
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