Who gets listeriosis?
In the United States, an estimated 2000 persons become seriously ill with listeriosis each year, with about 500 deaths. (Compare that to as many as 10,000 illnesses from the bacteria campylobacter, 20,000 from E. coli and 40,000 from salmonella.) Anyone can get the disease, but those at highest risk are newborns, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems such as those with AIDS, cancer, diabetes, transplant patients, or those on steroid medications. Listeria infections are a significant risk for pregnant women, who may not experience obvious symptoms. Infection of the fetus can occur before delivery and can cause abortion as early as the second month of pregnancy, but more often in the fifth and six months. An infection later in pregnancy may cause exposure during birth, sometimes resulting in infection of the newborn which may be fatal. Most cases are isolated, but foodborne outbreaks do occur. Past infection appears to produce some protective immunity for the future. How i
