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Clinical Microbiology Reviews Apr 1997Determination of the MIC in vitro is often used as the basis for predicting the clinical efficacy of antibiotics. Listeriae are uniformly susceptible in vitro to most... (Review)
Review
Determination of the MIC in vitro is often used as the basis for predicting the clinical efficacy of antibiotics. Listeriae are uniformly susceptible in vitro to most common antibiotics except cephalosporins and fosfomycin. However, the clinical outcome is poor. This is partially because listeriae are refractory to the bactericidal mechanisms of many antibiotics, especially to ampicillin-amoxicillin, which still is regarded as the drug of choice. A true synergism can be achieved by adding gentamicin. Another point is that listeriae are able to reside and multiply within host cells, e.g., macrophages, hepatocytes, and neurons, where they are protected from antibiotics in the extracellular fluid. Only a few agents penetrate, accumulate, and reach the cytosol of host cells, where the listeriae are found. Furthermore, certain host cells may exclude antibiotics from any intracellular compartment. Thus, determination of the antibacterial efficacy of a drug against listeriae in cell cultures may be a better approximation of potential therapeutic value. Certain host cells may have acquired the property of excluding certain antibiotics, for example macrolides, from intracellular spaces, which might explain therapeutic failures of antibiotic therapy in spite of low MICs. Animal models do not completely imitate human listeriosis, which is characterized by meningitis, encephalitis, soft tissue and parenchymal infections, and bacteremia. Meningitis produced in rabbits is a hyperacute disease, whereby most listeriae lie extracellularly, fairly accessible to antibiotics that can cross the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. In the murine model of systemic infection, Listeria monocytogenes is located mainly within macrophages and parenchymal cells of the spleen and liver, hardly accessible to certain drugs, such as ampicillin and gentimicin. The therapeutic efficacy of drugs clearly depends on the model used. Thus, for example, the combination of ampicillin with gentamicin acts synergistically in the rabbit meningitis model but not in the mouse model. Since conventional antimicrobial therapy with antibiotics is not satisfactory, particularly in the immunocompromised host (about 30% of patients with listeriosis die in spite of a rational choice of antibiotics), other possibilities must be considered for therapy as well as prevention. Indeed, listeriae are highly susceptible to several endogenous antibiotics, such as defensins. Bacteriocins produced by related bacterial species, e.g., lactobacilli and enterococci, are rapidly bactericidal. However, unfortunately, the use of such alternative measures along with immunization and immunmodulation is not yet feasible.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Humans; Immunocompromised Host; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis; Mice; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Rabbits; Vaccination
PubMed: 9105758
DOI: 10.1128/CMR.10.2.345 -
Microbes and Infection Aug 2007Human listeriosis is a potentially fatal foodborne infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes, an opportunistic psychrophile bacterium that is widespread in the... (Review)
Review
Human listeriosis is a potentially fatal foodborne infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes, an opportunistic psychrophile bacterium that is widespread in the environment. It has only recently emerged as a significant cause of human infection in industrialized countries, owing to appearance of a vulnerable population of immunocompromised individuals, and the concomitant development of large-scale agro-industrial plants and refrigerated food. Here we review the main clinical features of human listeriosis and highlight specificities and similarities with animal listeriosis in diverse species. Finally, we present some of the critical determinants for the choice of an appropriate animal model to study human listeriosis.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Domestic; Food Microbiology; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis; Mice; Models, Animal
PubMed: 17720601
DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2007.05.009 -
Revista Chilena de Infectologia :... 2018Listeriosis is an uncommon but potentially serious infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes. The main route of transmission is through the consumption of contaminated... (Review)
Review
Listeriosis is an uncommon but potentially serious infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes. The main route of transmission is through the consumption of contaminated food. It generally affects elderly people, pregnant women and immunosuppressed hosts, although cases are also seen in immunocompetent adults and children. Listeria monocytogenes is a short, anaerobic, non-spore-forming gram-positive bacillus that causes a narrow zone of hemolysis in blood agar. It is a facultative intracellular pathogen, and therefore it shows a complex pathogenesis. This bacterium has the ability to cross the intestinal barrier, the placenta and the blood-brain barrier producing gastroenteritis, maternal-fetal infections and meningoencephalitis. It is most commonly diagnosed from a positive culture of a sterile site. The treatment of choice includes the use of intravenous ampicillin alone or in combination with gentamicin.
Topics: Female; Humans; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis; Placenta; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
PubMed: 31095185
DOI: 10.4067/S0716-10182018000600649 -
Journal of Clinical Microbiology Nov 2013Cutaneous infections due to Listeria monocytogenes are rare. Typically, infections manifest as nonpainful, nonpruritic, self-limited, localized, papulopustular or... (Review)
Review
Cutaneous infections due to Listeria monocytogenes are rare. Typically, infections manifest as nonpainful, nonpruritic, self-limited, localized, papulopustular or vesiculopustular eruptions in healthy persons. Most cases follow direct inoculation of the skin in veterinarians or farmers who have exposure to animal products of conception. Less commonly, skin lesions may arise from hematogenous dissemination in compromised hosts with invasive disease. Here, we report the first case in a gardener that occurred following exposure to soil and vegetation.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Female; Humans; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Skin Diseases, Bacterial
PubMed: 23966491
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.01974-13 -
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Mar 1988Listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, appears to be increasing in incidence worldwide. The disease is of great concern to the food industry. A recent outbreak... (Review)
Review
Listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, appears to be increasing in incidence worldwide. The disease is of great concern to the food industry. A recent outbreak in California was linked to the consumption of Mexican-style soft cheese and involved more than 300 cases, 30% of which were fatal. L. monocytogenes can be found in a variety of dairy products, leafy vegetables, fish and meat products. It can grow in refrigerated foods and is more heat resistant than most vegetative microbes. The epidemiologic features of listeriosis are poorly understood, and the minimum infectious dose is unknown. Those predisposed to listeriosis include immunocompromised people and pregnant women and their fetuses. Meningitis, spontaneous abortion and septicemia are the primary manifestations of the disease. Early recognition is critical for successful treatment, and ampicillin is the preferred drug. Listeriosis should be considered in any febrile patient with neurologic symptoms of unknown origin, as well as in women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages, premature labour or fetal death. A food source should be the prime suspect if any isolated case or outbreak occurs.
Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Ampicillin; Disease Outbreaks; Female; Food Microbiology; Humans; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis; Pregnancy; United States; Virulence
PubMed: 3124948
DOI: No ID Found -
Microbes and Infection Dec 2016ISOPOL - for "International Symposium on Problems of Listeria and Listeriosis" - meetings gather every three years since 1957 participants from all over the world and...
ISOPOL - for "International Symposium on Problems of Listeria and Listeriosis" - meetings gather every three years since 1957 participants from all over the world and allow exchange and update on a wide array of topics concerning Listeria and listeriosis, ranging from epidemiology, diagnostic and typing methods, to genomics, post-genomics, fundamental microbiology, cell biology and pathogenesis. The XIXth ISOPOL meeting took place in Paris from June 14th to 17th, 2016 at Institut Pasteur. We provide here a report of the talks that were given during the meeting, which represents an up-to-date overview of ongoing research on this important pathogen and biological model.
Topics: Animals; Biomedical Research; Disease Models, Animal; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Listeria; Listeriosis
PubMed: 27876526
DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2016.10.009 -
The Canadian Veterinary Journal = La... Jun 2023Two 3-week-old goat kids from a herd of ~50 to 60 goats were examined by a veterinarian. The goats were in lateral recumbency with an inability to rise. Unilateral...
Two 3-week-old goat kids from a herd of ~50 to 60 goats were examined by a veterinarian. The goats were in lateral recumbency with an inability to rise. Unilateral cranial nerve deficiencies included cervical rotation, nystagmus, ptosis, facial paralysis, and absence of palpebral reflex. One of the 2 kids had a fever. The kids died and necropsy examinations were performed. Histopathology findings were highly suggestive of infection, which was confirmed by bacterial culture. This case suggests that listeriosis should be included in the differential diagnosis for goats with neurological signs even if they are not fed silage or haylage and are kept in a clean barn.
Topics: Animals; Goats; Listeriosis; Fever; Goat Diseases
PubMed: 37265813
DOI: No ID Found -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2022Many bacterial species, including several pathogens, can enter a so-called "viable but non-culturable" (VBNC) state when subjected to stress. Bacteria in the VBNC state... (Review)
Review
Many bacterial species, including several pathogens, can enter a so-called "viable but non-culturable" (VBNC) state when subjected to stress. Bacteria in the VBNC state are metabolically active but have lost their ability to grow on standard culture media, which compromises their detection by conventional techniques based on bacterial division. Under certain conditions, VBNC bacteria can regain their growth capacity and, for pathogens, their virulence potential, through a process called resuscitation. Here, we review the current state of knowledge of the VBNC state of (), a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium responsible for listeriosis, one of the most dangerous foodborne zoonosis. After a brief summary of characteristics of VBNC bacteria, we highlight work on VBNC in the environment and in agricultural and food industry settings, with particular emphasis on the impact of antimicrobial treatments. We subsequently discuss recent data suggesting that can enter the VBNC state in the host, raising the possibility that VBNC forms contribute to the asymptomatic carriage of this pathogen in wildlife, livestock and even humans. We also consider the resuscitation and virulence potential of VBNC and the danger posed by these bacteria to at-risk individuals, particularly pregnant women. Overall, we put forth the hypothesis that VBNC forms contribute to adaptation, persistence, and transmission of between different ecological niches in the One-Health , and suggest that screening for healthy carriers, using alternative techniques to culture-based enrichment methods, should better prevent listeriosis risks.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Listeria monocytogenes; Listeriosis; One Health; Pregnancy; Virulence; Zoonoses
PubMed: 35372114
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.849915 -
British Medical Journal Oct 1965
Topics: Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Listeriosis; Meningitis, Listeria; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
PubMed: 5890148
DOI: No ID Found -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Sep 1988
Topics: Disease Outbreaks; Food Microbiology; Humans; Listeriosis
PubMed: 3142538
DOI: No ID Found