Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium that some studies have suggested that 1-10% of humans may be intestinal carriers of the bacteria. It has been found in at least 37 mammalian species, both domestic and feral, as well as at least 17 species of birds and possibly some species of fish and shellfish. The bacteria have been isolated from soil, silage, and other environmental sources. L. monocytogenes is quite hardy and resists the deleterious effects of freezing, drying, and heat remarkably well for a bacteria that does not form spores. Most L. monocytogenes are pathogenic to some degree.
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