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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., (© 2022 The Authors. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

The clinical findings and treatment of 94 cattle with listeriosis are described. The general behaviour and condition of the animals were mostly moderately to severely disturbed. A common abnormality in posture was an exaggerated forward or sideward stance, and 11 of the animals were recumbent. More than half of the animals were ataxic and 22 circled. The most frequent cranial neurological signs observed were facial nerve paralysis, salivation, strabismus, reduced or absent pupillary light reflex, reduced or absent tongue movement and head tilt. The haematological and biochemical findings did not contribute to the diagnosis of listeriosis, but they were useful indicators of dehydration and the acid-base status of the animal. Forty-four of 57 of the animals had high leucocyte counts in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), mostly mononuclear cells. Eighty-seven of the animals were treated with various antibiotics (penicillin G, oxytetracycline, amoxicillin, and amoxicillin and gentamicin combined), but there was no significant difference in the success rate of the different treatments. Only two of the nine recumbent animals that were treated survived. Univariable analysis suggested that animals that were recumbent, excited, with an absent or weak menace reflex, nystagmus, high numbers of leucocytes in the CSF, high serum concentrations of urea and calcium and high serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase, and an acid-base deficit, had a smaller chance of surviving. When a logistic regression model was constructed, only recumbency, excitement and a weak or absent menace reflex remained significant factors affecting the likelihood of survival.

Two cases of septicemia with Listeria monocytogenes in two pregnant women at the 20th and 23rd weeks of pregnancy, respectively, are presented. The women had delays of 8 and 10 days from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and adequate treatment. Outcome was favorable; both women delivered healthy infants at term.

Thirteen cases of Listeria monocytogenes infection occurred at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center over a 10-year period, representing 0.09% of all admissions. These cases principally occurred in patients with underlying hematologic of lymphoreticular malignancy, but in all patients other causes of immune suppression were also present. Corticosteroids were the most frequent exogenous cause of immune suppression. Bacteremia was detected more frequently than meningitis and in contrast to earlier reports, bacteriologic cure was achieved in 12 of 13 patients. Therapeutic success appeared to be related to early institution of effective antimicrobial agents. Despite eradication of infection, seven of the patients were dead within three months from progression of their underlying disease. The overall survival rate of cancer patients with listeriosis is therefore a function of the underlying malignancy and not the infection.

Analysis of field data suggested that listerial encephalitis in sheep was most common in winter and early spring in the age groups of sheep which would be cutting, changing and possibly losing teeth. It was hypothesised that under these conditions ingested Listeria monocytogenes could reach the fine dental terminals of the trigeminal nerve causing an ascending neuritis and encephalitis. Experimental inoculation of organisms into the dental pulp demonstrated the feasibility of this route of infection. Histological encephalitis was evident six days after inoculation but the incubation period to clinical neurological disease was at least three weeks.

A case of prenatally diagnosed non-immune hydrops fetalis, that was later shown to be caused by listeriosis, is presented, and the clinical course, as well as the appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are described. We conclude, that listeriosis should be excluded, whenever a non-immune hydrops fetalis is associated with septicemia, influenza-like illness and fever of unknown origin.

An outbreak of listeriosis occurred in five-week-old lambs in a flock of 200 Dorset ewes and 240 lambs in-wintered. Nine lambs were lost within a period of 10 days. No cases of stillbirth or abortion or cerebral listeriosis occurred in the ewes. Silage had been fed on this farm to both cattle and sheep for 10 years without any previous problems. A description of the outbreak and the findings are reported.