Presentation and outcomes of Listeria‐affected pregnancies in Johannesburg tertiary hospitals: A 2‐year review

Abstract

Objective To describe maternal risk factors, presentations, peripartum findings, and pregnancy outcomes in Listeria monocytogenes‐infected women. Methods A retrospective descriptive case review. The records of 51 pregnant women infected with listeriosis who delivered infants between February 1, 2016 and February 28, 2018 at three academic hospitals in Johannesburg, South Africa, were included. The diagnosis of listeriosis was made on maternal/neonatal‐sampled blood or tissue cultures. Results Forty‐eight (82.3%) Listeria infections of maternal and neonatal listeriosis were diagnosed on blood culture. The median gestational age at diagnosis was at a preterm gestation of 33 (20–43) weeks. Twenty‐eight women (54.9%) had normal vaginal deliveries. Precipitous labor was described in 18 (39%) of these women. Fetal distress was the indication for cesarean section in 22 (41.2%) women. Meconium‐stained amniotic fluid was found in 21 (61.7%) women at the time of delivery. The category of very low birth weight had 14 (27.4%) neonates with an Apgar score of less than 7 at 5 min. Maternal morbidities included chorioamnionitis (3 [5.8%]) and puerperal infections (7 [13.7%]). The HIV‐positive anemic women had a tendency towards listerial infections. Conclusions Symptoms of listeriosis were non‐specific and diagnosis was detected on blood culture sampling. Risk factors included HIV seropositivity and were associated with puerperal infections and anemia.

Listeria monocytogenes at the food–human interface: A review of risk factors influencing transmission and consumer exposure in Africa

“…In the 2017–2018 South African outbreak, 50% of the total cases were pregnancy‐related, the majority (87%) of which occurred in neonates (Thomas et al., 2020). Moreover, a retrospective study of pregnancy‐associated listeriosis cases in South Africa found that HIV seropositivity and anaemia were additional risk factors (Iiyambo et al., 2022). Iron deficiency anaemia is an endemic problem in sub‐Saharan Africa with prevalence rates of up to 60% in some worst affected countries (Kassebaum and GBD 2013 Anemia Collaborators, 2016).…”