Listeria

[leviathan]

I know listeriosis is often caused by contamination in meats and other refrigerated products, but does it cause GI symptoms? I've only read it to be a bacteria involved with UTIs, sepsis, meningitis, etc. If it does cause GI symptoms, is there an exotoxin involved in this, or what is the mechanism?

[Cole]

Listeria causing UTIs? That's a new one for me. Listeria definitely can cause GI symptoms...in fact, most people who consume foods contaminated with Listeria either don't even know it, or get some mild, self-limiting diarrhea. Listeria is one of the few gram positive organisms which has an endotoxin. Is it the endotoxin which causes the diarrhea? Maybe. I'm not totally sure.

[leviathan]

Listeria causing UTIs?

I don't know why I said this...I think I was getting it confused with group B strep which also causes neonatal meningitis, AND UTIs in mothers.

[Cole]

Yeah, there are so many names in ID. You just have to see the syndrome a bunch of times to get the hang of it

Listeria is a relatively rare infection, so when it happens it's quite an event. Generally it causes GI symptoms, but when it gets invasive, it causes bacteremia, meningitis with rhomboencephalitis and some other syndromes (like endocarditis).