Listeriosis during Pregnancy: A Public Health Concern

Abstract

Listeria was first described in 1926 by Murray, Webb, and Swann, who discovered it while investigating an epidemic infection among laboratory rabbits and guinea pigs. The role of Listeria monocytogenes as a foodborne pathogen was definitively recognized during the 1980s. This recognition was the consequence of a number of epidemic human outbreaks due to the consumption of contaminated foods, in Canada, in the USA and in Europe. Listeriosis is especially severe in immunocompromised individuals such as pregnant women. The disease has a low incidence of infection, although this is undeniably increasing, with a high fatality rate amongst those infected. In pregnant women listeriosis may cause abortion, fetal death, or neonatal morbidity in the form of septicemia and meningitis. Improved education concerning the disease, its transmission, and prevention measures for immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women has been identified as a pressing need.

Pregnancy - associated human listeriosis: Virulence and genotypic analysis of Listeria monocytogenes from clinical samples

“…On the basis of information available, thirteen serotypes of L. monocytogenes have been described so far. However, only three serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b, and 4b) cause the vast majority of human clinical cases, in which serotype 1/2a is the most frequent one from food while serotype 4b causes the majority of human epidemics (Almeida et al, 2010;Mateus et al, 2013). Therefore, serotype might be valuable in describing the virulence potential of L. monocytogenes.…”

“…Its commonly contaminates raw products and also other food items through cross-contamination thus targeting the human beings. Human listeriosis is a major public health concern due to high mortality rates (20-30% of cases), severity of the disease (abortion, stillbirth, septicemia, meningitis, and meningoencephalitis), and the predilection for pregnant women, neonates, elderly or immunocompromised people (Mateus et al, 2013;Kashish et al, 2015;Soni et al, 2015).…”

The evolution and epidemiology of Listeria monocytogenes in Europe and the United States

“…Neonatal listeriosis can occur in two different forms: i) early-onset, generally defined when a newborn shows symptoms at birth or within 48 h of birth, and ii) late-onset, when symptoms develop after 48 h after birth (Awofisayo et al, 2015). Early-onset listeriosis is acquired in utero by transplacentary transmission, probably due to aspiration of infected amniotic liquid, and is characterized by severe manifestations (meningitis, septicemia, respiratory distress or pneumonia) (Mateus et al, 2013). In late-onset listeriosis infection occurs during delivery, with transmission possibly ascribable to the passage through the birth canal or nosocomial contamination (Mateus et al, 2013).…”

“…Early-onset listeriosis is acquired in utero by transplacentary transmission, probably due to aspiration of infected amniotic liquid, and is characterized by severe manifestations (meningitis, septicemia, respiratory distress or pneumonia) (Mateus et al, 2013). In late-onset listeriosis infection occurs during delivery, with transmission possibly ascribable to the passage through the birth canal or nosocomial contamination (Mateus et al, 2013). The associated mortality rate whit late-onset neonatal listeriosis is 10% but surviving babies can develop severe and chronic neurological sequelae (Mateus et al, 2013).…”

Effect of honokiol on exotoxin proteins listeriolysin O and p60 secreted by Listeria monocytogenes

“…Ingestion of foods contaminated with L. monocytogenes can result in listeriosis, a severe infectious disease characterized by meningoencephalitis, abortion, septicaemia and a high fatality rate (30 %) in pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals (Mateus et al, 2013). Several different virulence-associated exotoxin proteins have been characterized from L. monocytogenes.…”