Listeria monocytogenes in a healthy young adult

Otome, Ohide; Bullen, Michael; Tramontana, Adrian R

doi:10.5694/mja13.00065

To the Editor: Meningitis caused by Listeria monocytogenes is rare in immunocompetent adults.1 In the absence of risk factors for L. monocytogenes infection, Australian antibiotic guidelines recommend a third-generation cephalosporin alone for management of community-acquired meningitis, which has no activity against L. monocytogenes.2

Western Health, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: o.hide@hotmail.com

Acknowledgements:

We thank Jenny Wong of Dorevitch Pathology, Western Health, for laboratory assistance.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Farber JM, Peterkin PI. Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen. Microbiol Rev 1991: 55; 476-511.
2. Antibiotic Expert Group. Therapeutic guidelines: antibiotic. Version 14. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited, 2010.
3. Mylonakis E, Hohmann EL, Calderwood SB. Central nervous system infection with Listeria monocytogenes. 33 years’ experience at a general hospital and review of 776 episodes from the literature. Medicine (Baltimore) 1998; 77: 313-336.
4. Amaya-Villar R, Garcia-Cabrera E, Sulleiro-Igual E, et al. Three-year multicenter surveillance of community-acquired Listeria monocytogenes meningitis in adults. BMC Infect Dis 2010; 10: 324.
5. Mook P, O’Brien SJ, Gillespie IA. Concurrent conditions and human listeriosis, England, 1999-2009. Emerg Infect Dis 2011; 17: 38-43.

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