Listeriosis: Report of 10 Cases

Abstract

Ten patients with listeriosis were observed at Charity Hospital of New Orleans from November 1954 to November 1956. At least 4 additional Listeria infections were recognized in Louisiana during that period. The organism was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid and subdural fluid in 2 patients, the subdural fluid only in 1 patient, the cerebrospinal fluid and blood in 2 persons, the spinal fluid only in 4 persons, and the blood only in 1 instance. The organism was identified by its morphology, motility, hemolysis, and carbohydrate and other biochemical reactions. The U. S. Public Health Service Communicable Disease Center (Chamblee, Georgia) confirmed that these organisms were Listeria monocytogenes. Agglutination tests with unabsorbed anti-serums proved unsatisfactory. The epidemiology of listeriosis is complex, and this aspect of the disease has not been locally investigated. Antibiotic therapy has resulted in a change in the prognosis in listeriosis, from extremely poor to excellent. The organisms isolated from the patients described in this paper manifested almost complete uniformity in their sensitivity to antibiotics and sulfadiazine. An awareness of the problem of listeriosis may be the most important single factor in leading to recognition of the disease.