Frequency of Listeria monocytogenes and Brucella abortus Infections in the Vaginal Secretions of Women with Spontaneous Abortion: A case study

Abortion is an involuntary and spontaneous termination of pregnancy. Various factors can be involved in abortion, and many of them are currently unknown. Among these, bacterial infections are of particular importance. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Brucella abortus in the vaginal secretions of women suffering from abortion by biochemical and molecular methods. In the present study, a total of 110 samples of vaginal secretions from women suffering from abortion were collected in 2019 in Isfahan, Iran. The samples were collected from patients referred to gynecologists, obstetricians, and infertility specialists. Then, an antibiotic sensitivity test for bacterial isolates was done using the standard antibiogram method. The molecular detection of bacteria was performed by PCR reaction using specific primers designed for 16S rRNA gene amplification of L.monocytogenes and B. abortus. Based on the results, a total of 110 isolates of bacteria were obtained in the present study from women with and without abortion (control). Among the isolates, three belonged to L. monocytogenes (10.3%), and one belonged to B. abortus (3.4%). B. abortus was sensitive to all antibiotics used, and only one of the three L. monocytogenes isolates was resistant to tetracycline, ampicillin, and gentamicin antibiotics. The results of molecular identification showed that designing a species-specific primer to amplify the 16S rRNA gene by PCR assay may be a fast, low-cost, and reliable tool for screening for bacterial agents involved in abortion, which needs more study in the population. The high prevalence of L. monocytogenes in the vaginal secretions of women suffering from abortion is cause for concern and should be taken into consideration by treatment staff.

Frequency of Listeria monocytogenes and Brucella abortus Infections in the Vaginal Secretions of Women with Spontaneous Abortion: A case study Keywords:

Listeria monocytogenes , Brucella abortus , Vaginal secretions , Abortion