1Division of Veterinary Public Health, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar - 243 122 (U.P.), India.
2Gurpreet Nursing Home, Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab, India.
*Corresponding author: Ph.D. Scholar, Division of VPH, IVRI, Izatnagar (E-mail: simranthind18@gmail.com)
Listeria monocytogenes is an important intracellular pathogen causing septicaemia, abortion and encephalitis in man and animals worldwide. The pathogen possesses a powerful array of regulated virulence factors, of which, listeriolysin O (LLO) is secreted by only virulent strains of L. monocytogenes and is used as a dominant target antigen of anti-listerial immunity. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing LLO as purified antigen for detecting anti-L. monocytogenes antibodies in women with spontaneous abortions was evaluated after adsorption with streptolysin O. Screening of 50 sera samples procured from women with spontaneous abortions from private and government maternity hospitals showed a seroprevalence of 16%, suggesting that L. monocytogenes infections may be considered a potential cause of reproductive disorders in women.
