Listeriosis Symptoms You Should Know About

Listeriosis Symptoms You Should Know About. There has been an outbreak o Listeriosis in South Africa, and the disease continues to claim lives. This is a disease caused by a gram-positive bacterium named Listeria that can penetrate and replicate inside human cells.

Symptoms

Symptoms of listeriosis are variable; most people who are infected have few or no symptoms; when symptoms of Listeria infection are present, they usually consist of

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Nausea, and
• Diarrhea.
  

  Some people may develop more severe symptoms such as

• Meningitis
• Mental changes, and
• Brain abscesses.
• Death may occur.

Listeriosis is usually diagnosed by discovering that a person was associated with an outbreak of Listeria-contaminated food or fluid or identified as a person associated with the source of a known listeriosis outbreak. Definitive diagnosis is done when Listeria bacteria are isolated from the patient’s blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or other body fluid.

People are exposed to Listeria bacteria if they ingest contaminated food or fluid. Foods that are not cooked or fluids that are not treated or pasteurized are frequently the sources of infection. During pregnancy, women can transmit Listeria organisms to their fetus or to their