Listeriosis

Symptoms:

Maternal infection while pregnant leading to:

• spontaneous abortion
• stillbirth
• fulminant illness causing death within a few hours of birth

Early neonatal:

• loss of appetite
• lethargy
• jaundice
• vomiting
• skin rash
• whitish nodules on mucous membranes of the mouth
• sutures - separated

Signs and tests:

• brown-stained amniotic fluid
• papular erythematous skin rash
• whitish mucus membrane granulomas
• respiratory distress
• shock

Tests:

• cultures of amniotic fluid
• cultures of meconium
• cultures of the blood
• cultures of the urine (clean catch)
• cultures cutaneous lesions, if present
• CSF culture