en میکروب شناسی Microbiology مقالات اصلی Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>Background:</em></strong><strong><em> &nbsp;</em></strong><em>Listeria monocytogenes</em> is a primarily foodborne bacterial pathogen that is one of the causative agents of gastroenteritis. However, the prevalence of <em>L. monocytogenes </em>infection in pediatric patients with diarrheal disease is not clearly identified in the Iranian population. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of <em>L. monocytogenes </em>isolates found in infectious diarrhea samples of pediatric patients in an Iranian population.<br> <br> <strong><em>Methods:</em></strong> A total of 173 infectious diarrhea samples collected from pediatric patients were used in this cross-sectional study. Samples were collected from patients referred to the Children&rsquo;s Educational-Therapeutic Center affiliated with the Arak University of Medical Sciences in Arak, Iran from May-September 2015. To identify the presence of <em>L. monocytogenes, </em>the samples were directly inoculated into the Listeria Enrichment Broth Base through cold enrichment, then plated onto isolated exclusive Listeria Selective Agar Base. As an alternative method for identifying <em>L, monocytogenes, </em>Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of the <em>InlA</em> gene was used<em>.</em><br> <br> <strong><em>Results:</em></strong> &nbsp;Of the 173 infectious diarrhea samples, eight (4.6%) with <em>L. monocytogenes</em> were identified using exclusive culture media, while nine (5.2%) were identified using PCR. The majority of <em>L. monocytogenes</em> infections (seven cases (77.7%)) were observed in children under the age of five.<br> <br> <strong><em>Conclusions:</em></strong> Our results show <em>L. monocytogenes</em> infections to have a low prevalence for causing diarrhea in children in the central region of Iran. This should be taken into consideration by pediatricians when treating intestinal diseases.</div> Diarrhea, Iran, Listeria monocytogenes, Pediatric. 172 177 http://rbmb.net/browse.php?a_code=A-10-271-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Elnaz Abbasi elnaz.abbasi@yahoo.com 100319475328460017277 100319475328460017277 No Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences. & Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran. Alireza Amouzandeh-Nobaveh aamouzandeh@yahoo.com 100319475328460017278 100319475328460017278 No Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences. Ehsanollah Ghaznavi-Rad ghaznaviehs@yahoo.com 100319475328460017279 100319475328460017279 Yes Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences. & Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Faculty of Medicine Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.