The Application of Laboratory Automated Reporting System on Listeria Infection Surveillance

The Application of Laboratory Automated Reporting System on Listeria Infection Surveillance

Listeria infections are mainly caused by consuming foods contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Infected individuals might experience fever, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms, and meningitis, miscarriage or even death in more severe cases. Taiwan had no national surveillance for Listeria infections until Laboratory Automated Reporting System (LARS) was established in September 2014. This study aimed to describe the demographic characteristics, medical treatment, invasive infections, and fatality in Listeria infection cases, using data from LARS. A total of 109 infected cases were reported from September 2014 to June 2016. Among these cases, 52 (48%) were aged over 65, and 7 (6%) were under 1 year old. More than 95 (87%) cases had invasive infections. The 30-day fatality rate was 19%. In addition, by integrating the surveillance of perspective outbreak trends, spatial distribution and logistics associations of case information, we could establish an automated analytical system to determine clusters more effectively. Further data, such as health insurance data, genomic sequences and drug resistance patterns of Listeria monocytogenes, are needed in order to follow cases' medical conditions, to formulate interventions, and to serve as the evidence to classify Listeria infection as one of the notifiable diseases.