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Listeriosis is a systemic infectious disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacillus. It primarily affects pregnant women, neonates, elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to septicemia, meningitis, and perinatal infections.
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Listeriosis (Listeria Monocytogenes) | Sources, Pathophysiology, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Transmission:
Pathogenesis:
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Clinical syndromes include meningitis, septicemia, rhombencephalitis, and perinatal infection.
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| Healthy Adults (often asymptomatic/mild) | Flu-like illness, fever, myalgia, diarrhea |
|---|---|
| Pregnant Women | • Usually mild maternal illness. |
| • Severe consequences for fetus: miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, neonatal infection. | |
| Neonates | • Early-onset (granulomatosis infantiseptica): sepsis, disseminated abscesses, skin lesions, high mortality. |
| • Late-onset: meningitis/sepsis within 2–3 weeks of birth. | |
| Elderly / Immunocompromised | • Sepsis, meningitis, meningoencephalitis (especially rhombencephalitis – brainstem involvement with cranial nerve palsies, ataxia). |
| • Mortality is high |
Clinical presentation and features of listeriosis: The most common clinical forms of invasive listeriosis are septicaemia, neurolisteriosis and maternal–neonatal complications. Percentages are those from French surveillance data and indicate the percentage of patients affected by each manifestation of listeriosis. Other, rare forms of infections can also occur in ~6% of cases
Disson, O., Charlier, C., Pérot, P. et al. Listeriosis. Nat Rev Dis Primers 11, 71 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-025-00654-x