Listeria monocytogenes - CSF (PCR)

Cerebral spinal fluid, 5ml

The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of the relatively rare bacterial disease listeriosis, an infection caused by eating contaminated food (products from animal origin as well as plant-based food).
In healthy people with normal immune system, listeriosis just causes mild symptoms like fever, myalgia or diarrhea or no symptoms at all.
In people with compromised immune system, newborns or the elderly, an infection with L. monocytogenes can lead to severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes with a mortality rate as high as 20%.
In pregnant women, the infection can result in stillbirth, spontaneous abortion or preterm birth.