Listeria- Listeriosis

Listeriosis Need to Know: Listeriosis is a food-borne disease that infects 2,500 people each year and causes 500 deaths per year in the United States, based on data up until 1997. Caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, the disease mainly affects pregnant women, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems. The good news is that infections with listeria are declining in the U.S., and they can be prevented by using the same recommendations to avoid other food borne diseases such as salmonella, norovirus and E.coli. Listeria infections caught early can be treated with antibiotics.

Symptoms and Diagnosis:

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Nausea or diarrhea (sometimes)

If the infection spreads to the nervous system, listeriosis can cause:

• Headache
• Stiff neck
• Confusion
• Loss of balance
• Convulsions

Listeria can be diagnosed by a blood test or by testing spinal fluid.

Warning to Pregnant Women: Though listeria rarely causes serious disease in previously healthy individuals, even a mild illness caused by the listeria bacteria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or listeria infection in the newborn baby. The CDC has many recommendations to avoid infections during pregnancy.

Natural Habitat of Listeria: Soil and water are the natural sources of the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Foods such as vegetables can be contaminated with soil or uncomposted manure. Meat and milk can be contaminated through infected animals, who do not appear ill. Packaged foods such as hotdogs can contaminated after the cooking process and before packaging. Unpasteurized dairy products can also harbor the listeria bacteria.

Preventing Listeria Infection: Most healthy people do not become ill even after ingesting some listeria bacteria, but rules of thumb for food safety are:

• Eat thoroughly cooked meat (no pink parts), and try using a food thermometer to measure the temperature of the thickest cut of meat
• Wash vegetables with clean water
• Don’t contaminate already cooked foods with uncooked foods
• Consume only pasteurized dairy products
• Wash hands before and after handling food
• Sanitize cutlery and cutting surfaces after handling food
• Eat hot food served hot and cold food served cold

Extra Care for Sensitive People: People who are particularly susceptible to infection with the listeria bacteria are those with weakened immune systems, people with cancer, diabetes or kidney disease, people with AIDS, people taking glucocorticosteroid medications and the elderly. Those people should take additional care to avoid:

• Hot dogs, cold cuts and deli meats, unless cooked thoroughly
• Soft cheeses unless made from pasteurized milk or cooked thoroughly
• Pates and meat spreads unless they are canned or “shelf stable”
• Smoked seafood unless it is cooked, canned or “shelf stable”

Listeria is Treated With Antibiotics: Pregnant women are treated for listeria infection with antibiotics which can prevent infection in the fetus or newborn. Babies can also be given antibiotics to treat listeria infections, though the kind of antibiotics may or may not vary from those given to adults.

You’ve Eaten Food Contaminated With Listeria?: Don't panic. The CDC states that if you have eaten a food that has been recalled because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, it is unlikely that you will become ill. But if you are in the high risk group mentioned above, you have eaten the contaminated product and you become ill, see your doctor and let him or her know you may have been exposed to Listeria monocytogenes.