The disease primarily affects pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is usually a mild illness for pregnant women, but it causes severe disease in the fetus or newborn baby. Some people with Listeria infections, most commonly adults 65 years and older and people with weakened immune systems, develop severe infections of the bloodstream causing sepsis or brain causing meningitis or encephalitis.
Listeria infections can sometimes affect other parts of the body, including bones, joints, and sites in the chest and abdomen. Listeriosis can cause a variety of symptoms, depending on the person and the part of the body affected. Listeria can cause fever and diarrhea similar to other foodborne germs , but this type of Listeria infection is rarely diagnosed. Symptoms in people with invasive listeriosis, meaning the bacteria has spread beyond the gut, depend on whether the person is pregnant.
People with invasive listeriosis usually report symptoms starting 1 to 4 weeks after eating food contaminated with Listeria ; some people have reported symptoms starting as late as 70 days after exposure or as early as the same day of exposure. Listeriosis is usually diagnosed when a bacterial culture a type of laboratory test grows Listeria monocytogenes from a body tissue or fluid, such as blood, spinal fluid, or the placenta.
Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. If infection occurs during pregnancy, Listeria bacteria can spread to the baby through the placenta. You should seek medical care and tell the doctor about eating possibly contaminated food if you have a fever and other symptoms of possible listeriosis, such as fatigue and muscle aches, within two months after eating possibly contaminated food.
This is especially important if you are pregnant, age 65 or older, or have a weakened immune system. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. People at Risk. Whole Genome Sequencing. Contamination can occur at any point in the farming, distribution, and food preparation process. Listeria is different from other bacteria that cause food poisoning because it can survive and continue to grow even when in the refrigerator.
Foods contaminated with listeria look, smell, and taste normal. Listeria can be killed by proper cooking methods. Types of food commonly contaminated by listeria include dairy products, fish, meat, and vegetables.
Not everyone who is infected with listeria will develop listeriosis. Infants, people older than 50 years old and especially over 65 , or people with an impaired or weakened immune system are most likely to be affected.
Symptoms of the disease may appear suddenly, as soon as 1 day after or up to 90 days after eating food contaminated with listeria. Generally, milder forms of listeriosis will cause symptoms much sooner than more serious forms of the disease. Rarely, very severe forms such as meningoencephalitis an infection of the brain and the surrounding tissues or bacteremia where the bacteria are present in the blood may follow.
However, in some individuals, the infection will spread to the nervous system where symptoms might include:. In susceptible individuals, listeriosis can lead to a serious blood infection septicemia or inflammation of the membranes around the brain meningitis. Pregnant women are 10 times more likely to develop listeriosis than the general population. The incidence of listeriosis during pregnancy is 12 per ,, compared with 0. While a mother with a Listeria infection may not show any outward symptoms, an unborn child might be severely affected.
Listeriosis can result in miscarriage or premature birth. There is a possibility that a newborn might suffer a life-threatening infection in the days and weeks after birth. Listeriosis is caused by Listeria , a type of bacteria that is commonly found in water, soil, and feces. Humans are infected when they consume foods that harbor the bacteria. The most common foods to cause listeriosis outbreaks are deli meats and unpasteurized dairy products. However, many other foods have also been found to spark outbreaks, including caramel apples, cantaloupe, and cabbages fertilized by sheep manure.
Adults who are healthy and have strong immune systems are less at risk of listeriosis. The following are associated with an increased risk of Listeria infection:. For minor infections, medication might not be required. For more serious cases of listeriosis, antibiotics are the most common treatment choice; ampicillin can be used alone or in conjunction with another antibiotic often gentamicin.
If septicemia or meningitis occur, the individual will be given intravenous antibiotics and require up to 6 weeks of care and treatment.
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