Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Incidence of foodborne pathogens back to prepandemic levels

During 2022, the incidence of pathogens commonly transmitted through food generally increased to prepandemic levels, according to research published in the June 30 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...

Health

What to know about Listeria and food recalls

Listeria is in the news again—sometimes you're warned against a particular brand of ice cream or bags of fresh produce. This time around, it's deli meat. Public health officials will raise the alarm about an infection called ...

Health

Pregnancy is no picnic when it comes to listeria

Food safety is important for everybody, but it is especially important if you're expecting. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can change a pregnant person's immune system, making her more susceptible to contracting foodborne ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

A nasty germ that can lurk in favorite foods

(HealthDay)—Recalls of assorted foods and different brands of ice cream over the past few years have put a spotlight on the germ known as listeria.

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Listeria is a bacterial genus that contains seven species. Named after the English pioneer of sterile surgery Joseph Lister, the genus received its current name in 1940. Listeria species are Gram-positive bacilli. The major human pathogen in the Listeria genus is L. monocytogenes. It is usually the causative agent of the relatively rare bacterial disease, listeriosis, a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria. The disease affects primarily pregnant women, newborns, adults with weakened immune systems, and the elderly.

Listeriosis is a serious disease for humans; the overt form of the disease has a mortality rate of about 20 percent. The two main clinical manifestations are sepsis and meningitis. Meningitis is often complicated by encephalitis, a pathology that is unusual for bacterial infections. Listeria ivanovii is a pathogen of mammals, specifically ruminants, and has rarely caused listeriosis in humans.

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