Increasing Incidence of Listeriosis and Infection-associated Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

BackgroundListeriosis caused by Listeria monocytogenes has a high case-fatality rate (CFR) of approximately 20% to 30%. An increasing incidence of listeriosis has been reported in many countries recently. We investigated the annual incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of listeriosis at three different hospitals in Korea and evaluated the effects of appropriate empiric antimicrobial treatments on patient outcomes.MethodsWe retrospectively collected the data of all culture-positive cases of human listeriosis from three hospitals of different sizes in Korea during 2006–2016 and calculated the annual number of cases and incidence per 100,000 admissions.ResultsA total of 58 patients with L. monocytogenes were included in this study. The incidence of listeriosis was significantly higher in 2013–2016 than in 2006–2012 (RR 3.1; 95% CI 1.79–5.36; P<0.001), mainly because of an increase in patients over 60 years of age (RR 3.69; 95% CI 1.70–8.02; P<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that healthcare-associated infection (adjusted OR, 12.15; 95% CI, 2.56–86.01; P=0.004) and empirical treatment with first-line antimicrobial agents (adjusted OR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.00–0.63; P=0.044) were associated with CFR.ConclusionsHealthcare-associated infections caused by L. monocytogenes are associated with high CFR. Adequate initial empirical treatments could reduce CFR, suggesting that careful consideration of an empirical antimicrobial regimen is warranted for elderly or immunocompromised patients admitted to the hospital.

Listeriosis in mainland China: A systematic review

“…In addition to bacteremia and CNS infection, Listeria can also lead to focal infections such as pneumonia, enteritis, and ophthalmitis (Marsaudon et al, 2018;Wan and Dong, 2015;Zhu et al, 2012). In the present study, the average age of non-UD patients was relatively younger than has been reported in other countries (Charlier et al, 2017;Choi et al, 2018). The reason for this may be that elderly people in China prefer to eat well-cooked food rather than raw or half-raw food.…”

“…The present study and that of Feng et al (2013) report listeriosis in mainland China; however, the cases in the present study were reported during the years 2011-2017, while those in the study of Feng et al were reported during the years 1964Feng et al were reported during the years -2010, and more UD patients were reported in the present study (110/163 vs. 49/70). Similarly, an increase in the number of patients with listeriosis in Korea has also been reported over the past 10 years (Choi et al, 2018), with the elderly and the immunocompromised as the patients most involved. Improvements in methods of tracing Listeria infections (Moura et al, 2016;Jackson et al, 2016), increased awareness of listeriosis among clinicians, and the greater number of databases searched in the present study may have contributed to this increase in number of cases; however, it is speculated that the number of cases of listeriosis in mainland China may have been underestimated previously.…”

“…The long incubation period and non-specific clinical manifestations make it difficult to diagnose listeriosis in a timely manner (Choi et al, 2018). Therefore, it is important to determine whether the incidence of listeriosis in China is underestimated.…”

Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in a patient with meningoencephalitis using next-generation sequencing: a case report

“…Invasive forms of listeriosis can lead to infection of CNS, in these cases even though the adequate antibiotic treatment the overall mortality rates remains nearly 30% [3]. The clinical manifestations of LMM are usually uncharacteristic, thus hindering prompt diagnosis [4].…”

Listeriosis in a Pregnant Woman and a Neonate

“…Recently, the incidence of listeriosis has increased in many countries [5]. However, the diagnosis of listeriosis in pregnant women is difficult because the symptoms are often ambiguous.…”