Search for Listeria Monocytogenes in Raw and Pasteurized Milk in Kurdistan Province

Listeria monocytogenes can be found in water, soil, animal, milk and nutrients issue of animal and it is widespread organism. Listeria monocytogenes causes encephalitis, abortion and septicaemia in cow. The animal evacuates cause of disease via the milk, urine and feces. It can contaminate human in different ways resulting in abortion in pregnant women, septicaemia in newborn babies, encephalitis, endocarditic, and disease of skin and enteric disease. Milk, the most frequent and significant drink in all developed countries for all ages, is considered to be a major foodstuff; although, this nutrient is one of ways of human contamination to listeriosis Since Kurdistan province is suffering from many hygienic problems, the objective of the following study was to investigate the probability of milk contamination with the above mentioned bacterium by testing raw and pasteurized milk. For this purpose, 100 pasteurized and 100 raw milk samples were obtained from the province towns using random cluster sampling method. The samples were then bacteriologicaly tested. Carrying out all bacteriological tests, the following results were obtained: 6(6%) out of 100 raw milk samples and 1(1%) out of 100 pasteurized ones were found to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. Considering some other analogous results reached by other researchers of this field in various countries, it is strongly recommended that pasteurization principles should be observed and raw consumption of milk must be avoided.