Morbidity, Mortality, and Epidemiological Features of Clinical Invasive Listeriosis Isolates from Sentinel Surveillance in Beijing, China, 2013-2022.

Abstract

Listeriosis is a relatively rare but severe foodborne disease, which has significant public health concern of persons with underlying conditions and pregnant women. This study aimed to estimate the morbidity, mortality, and fatality rates of listeriosis over a 10-year period and clarify the epidemiological features of the pathogen in Beijing, China, based on voluntary reporting of sentinel surveillance. A total of 228 listeriosis cases were reported with annual morbidity rate of 1.054 per million inhabitants, including 113 maternal-neonatal cases with mean annual morbidity rate of 63.401 per million live births in Beijing from 2013 to 2022.The morbidity rate increased from 0.094 to 0.868 per million inhabitants from 2013 to 2019 (p for trend = 0.003). The overall and maternal-neonatal fatality rate were 31.82% and 42.86%, respectively. Four serogroups were identified in this study, and 1/2b predominated (89 strains). We observed the morbidity rate of listeriosis increased in Beijing over the past 10 years. Maternal-neonatal cases accounted for a higher proportion than that described in other countries, considering population base and fertility policy in China, official recommendations targeting pregnant women should be actively promoted.