Listeria Listeriosis

Order: Bacillales
Class: Bacilli
Genus: Listeria

Species: There are 6 species of Listeria.
L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii, L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. seeligeri, and L. grayi
Only L. monocytogenes infects humans and makes us ill.

Serotypes: There are 13 serotypes of L. monocytogenes that can cause disease in humans. More than 90 percent of human isolates belong to only three serotypes: 1/2a, 1/2b, and 4b.

Listeriosis
- is the disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes)

Manifestations of listeriosis
- febrile gastroenteritis
- septicemia
- meningitis
- corneal ulcer
- pneumonia
- miscarriage
- spontaneous abortion
- premature delivery
- stillbirth

Listeria monocytogenes
- named after Joseph Lister
- Gram positive bacterium (rod shape)
- motile (flagellate with actin rockets/comet tails) - tumbling motility (tergolek-golek)
- flagellate & aflagellate forms; grows flagella at 30C and below; no flagella at 37C (body temperature)
- peritrichous flagella at RT (20-25C)
- nonspore-forming (doesn't form spores) - no spores to disseminate the bacteria
- found in human gut or gastrointestinal (GI) system - up to 10% is L. monocytogenes
- virulent food-borne pathogen - can infect humans and cause 20-30% death
- facultatively anaerobic - can survive with & without oxygen (ie inside cells)

Transmission
- vertical transmission: mother to child when giving birth (childbirth) - transvaginal - fetomaternal listeriosis
- newborns can get the disease from their mothers if their mothers ate contaminated food
- expectant mothers to avoid soft cheeses which may be contaminated with L. monocytogenes

Food contamination
- many sources - raw food, fruits and vegetables, fruit salads, salads, coleslaw, unpasteurized milk & food
- sheep manure can contaminate cabbage - cabbage is made into coleslaw (raw cabbage) - contaminated coleslaw may cause consumers to become ill (foodborne listeriosis)

Development of listeriosis
- from days to weeks

Pathogenicity
-  causes meningitis in newborns (rengsa selaput otak bayi) - 3rd most common cause of meningitis in newborns

Recent outbreaks
- South Africa - ready-to-eat meat (cold meats)
- Australia - rock melons or cantaloupes

Industries affected
- food industry
- import & export
- tourism
- business travels

Detection in the clinical diagnostic labs
- old way - hemolysin test
- modern way - DNA methods

Treatment
- antibiotics


External links
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)
http://eol.org/pages/974245/details
https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-03-22-who-no-need-to-ban-sa-meats/
https://mg.co.za/article/2018-03-21-three-major-mistakes-tiger-brands-made-in-response-to-the-listeriosis-crisis
http://punchng.com/who-warns-nigeria-15-other-african-countries-of-listeriosis-outbreak/
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/tc/listeriosis-topic-overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listeriosis

Rapidly ascending numbness in the legs

A 78-year old Malay widow was a globe-trotter. However, she suddenly experienced numbness in both her legs. Within 10 days, her numbness had spread upward to both thighs and waist. She was depressed.


What could be the cause of her numbness?

How can she be cared for at home?

What must be monitored when caring for her at home?

How can her condition be investigated?

What test(s) can be done?

Is there treatment for her condition?

Can her condition improve?

Will her condition worsen?

What advice will you give her caregivers?

Vitamin E
Vitamin E deficiency leads to muscle weakness and sight problems. Vitamin E oil (softgel capsules) may help to reduce the patient's leg numbness. Vitamin E is neuro-regenerative and helps nerves to grow or create new networks around lesions or problematic areas. How soon, what dose, how extensive, how effective, all these questions will depend on existing research findings and future research on vitamin E on nerve regeneration.


External links
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2522257/
http://pn.bmj.com/content/