The annual incidence of Listeria monocytogenes infection among pregnant women with abortion and premature birth effects in Kirkuk city, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Listeriosis is a severe infection that causes miscarriage and stillbirth in pregnant women. It is common in developing nations with unsanitary living circumstances.

Aims of the study: The study's goals are to isolate and identify Listeria monocytogenes from the placenta and cervix of women who have had many abortions and investigate the link between this germ and occurrences of miscarriage and premature birth.

Examine their ability to create virulence factors, and then investigate the susceptibility and resistance of bacteria to various antibiotics.

Method: 86 cervical and placental swabs were obtained from women who had an abortion or were in the early stages of labor. Listeria monocytogenes were isolated and identified, and the bacterium's virulence factors were investigated and a susceptibility test to common antibiotics.

Results: The results showed that 34 of the 86 swabs tested positive for L. monocytogenes, accounting for 39.53 percent of the total. It was divided amongst 29 isolates from cervical (pap smear) samples (43.93 %) and five isolates from 20 placental swabs (25%). The age group (26-35 years) had the highest rate of miscarriage or early deliveries (41.86%). The current findings revealed that the most significant number of samples were taken from women who had stillbirth 33 (38.37%) compared to women who had abortions and premature births 22 (27.915%), 29 (33.72%), and so on. There was no link between chronic disorders like hypertension or other conditions like gestational diabetes and listeriosis susceptibility, as most of the cases were free of these conditions (26.74%). The majority of the positive cases were from uneducated people who lived in a rural area with a common standard of living (27.91%). The bacterium's virulence factors, such as the synthesis of Protease, Lipase, and Lecithinase enzymes and its slime layer, were investigated. The susceptibility of the listeria to certain medications was also investigated, with all isolates showing resistance to the antibiotic Nalidixic acid (100%) but sensitivity to the antibiotics Ampicillin and Chloramphenicol (100%) and varying sensitivity to the rest.