Unusual presentation of human listeriosis: A clinical microbiologists’ insight

K V Ramana
Page No. 158-160

Human listeriosis is a bacterial infection caused by Listeria spp. Among the six species of Listeria
identified thus far, Listeria monocytogenes is considered as pathogenic to human. The most
common presentation of human listeriosis is meningitis. There have been many reports of human
infections caused Listeria spp in the form of food borne outbreaks. Listeria spp have been
attributed to cause invasive infections in pregnant women, extreme age groups and
immunocompromised individuals. The cause of concern is the complex nature of clinical
presentation (subclinical to severe and invasive infections), high mortality rate among invasive
infections, complex physiological, biochemical and cultural characters of the Listeria spp.
Keywords: Human listeriosis, clinical presentation of Listeria infection, breast abscess caused by
Listeria spp, laboratory identification of Listeria spp