National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Listeria infection


Other Names:
Listeriosis; Listeria monocytogenes infection
Categories:
A listeria infection or listeriosis is an infection caused by a bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes. It mainly affects newborn infants, elderly patients, pregnant women and patients who have low immunity.[1] Listeria can be spread by several methods. A common cause is ingestion (food-borne transmission) of unpasteurized milk or contaminated vegetables. It can also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or directly to the newborn at the time of delivery.[2] Listeriosis can cause a variety of symptoms, depending on the person and the part of the body affected. Pregnant women typically have only fever and other flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue and muscle aches. However, infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn, including generalized infection (sepsis) or inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain (meningitis). Sometimes listeriosis involves many organs and presents with masses filled with pus (microabscesses or granulomas). Older children with Listeria infections frequently develop meningitis.[1][3][2]  Treatment include antibiotics such as ampicillin and aminoglycosides.[1]
Last updated: 7/12/2017

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

  • You can obtain information on this topic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC is recognized as the lead federal agency for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
  • Mayo Clinic has an information page on Listeria infection.
  • MedlinePlus was designed by the National Library of Medicine to help you research your health questions, and it provides more information about this topic.

In-Depth Information

  • Medscape Reference provides information on this topic. You may need to register to view the medical textbook, but registration is free.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.

  1. Zach T. Listeria Infection. Medscape Reference. October 20, 2015; http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/965841-overview.
  2. Listeriosis. Department of Health NY State. 2011; https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/listeriosis/fact_sheet.htm.
  3. Listeria. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2017; https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/symptoms.html.