Listeriosis In Humans: An Evaluation

TL;DR: Although many infections occur in infants and in patients with an underlying disease, most occur in previously healthy people of all age groups and are unrelated to a rural setting or animal exposure.

Abstract: Infection of man with Listeria monocytogenes was first described in 1929 [1], and in recent years it has been reported with increasing frequency.1 L. monocytogenes has been isolated and identified in many species of animals [2] and it was first thought that non-human hosts were the principal source for human infections. Most recent cases, however, in this country have been in urban residents with no known animal contacts [3]. Later, because many of the isolations from humans were from neonates and the products of conception, it was thought to be primarily an obstetric and pediatric disease [4]. Still later, Louria et al. [5] called attention to the association between infection with Listeria and lymphoproliferative diseases. Subsequent reports by Simpson et al. [6] and Buchner and Schneierson [3] supported this association. Because of these reports, the concept has become prevalent that listerial infection occurs almost exclusively as a complication of an underlying primary disorder (malignancy, cirrhosis, immune deficiency states). This communication endeavors to put listeriosis into a more realistic perspective. That is, although many infections occur in infants and in patients with an underlying disease, most occur in previously healthy people of all age groups and are unrelated to a rural setting or animal exposure.