Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria monocytogenes -- This organism can cause encephalitis, meningitis, blood-borne infection and death. It is especially hazardous for pregnant women (posing a threat of miscarriage or stillbirth), newborn babies, the elderly and immune-deficient patients. It causes about 28%of deaths due to food poisoning.
Listeria can survive acid, nitrite and salt and can thrive even in the refrigerator, is most commonly found in raw (unpasteurized) milk, soft-ripened cheeses like Brie and ready-to-eat meats like hot dogs and pâté. Other sources of listeria include raw and smoked fish, raw meats and poultry, cooked poultry, fresh vegetables and ice cream.
Listeriosis (listeria infection) starts insidiously, with headache, low-grade fever, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting and is often mistaken for a viral illness that will cure itself. Those factors cause treatment delays and allow the disease to progress. Symptoms can appear anywhere from 3 to 70 days after exposure.
Listeria infections must be treated with injectable antibiotics -- penicillin, ampicillin or gentamicin -- or intravenous trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Prevention is the best defense. Those at greatest risk should avoid foods that are most likely to harbor listeria or they should cook those foods until piping hot (180 degrees) before tasting them.
Listeria monocytogenes
