Anatomical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2023 Jul 24;109(3):584-586. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0029. Print 2023 Sep 6.
Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne, facultative, intracellular gram-positive bacillus, is one of 17 species of the Listeria genus and was responsible for the world's largest outbreak of listeriosis in 2017-2018 in South Africa. Listeria monocytogenes tends to cause mild gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy individuals. However, pregnancy-associated listeriosis can be fatal to the fetus and can lead to serious adverse effects in the neonate. Listeria monocytogenes has an affinity for the placenta, as opposed to other nonreproductive organs. Herein, we present a case of placental listeriosis diagnosed in a 33-year-old female, parity 4, with unknown gestational age during the listeriosis outbreak in South Africa in 2017-2018. The patient presented with pregnancy-related complications and underwent a caesarean section. Morphological features demonstrated acute suppurative villitis and intervillositis with a heavy load of gram-positive bacilli, which is highly suggestive of placental listeriosis. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction confirmed the presence of L. monocytogenes.
单增李斯特菌是一种食源性、兼性、细胞内革兰氏阳性杆菌，是李斯特菌属的 17 个种之一，也是 2017-2018 年南非世界范围内最大李斯特菌病暴发的罪魁祸首。单增李斯特菌通常在健康个体中引起轻微的胃肠道症状。然而，妊娠相关性李斯特菌病可对胎儿致命，并可导致新生儿严重不良后果。单增李斯特菌倾向于与胎盘而非其他非生殖器官结合。在此，我们报告了一例在 2017-2018 年南非李斯特菌病暴发期间诊断出的胎盘李斯特菌病，患者为 33 岁女性，4 次妊娠，未知妊娠周数。患者出现妊娠相关并发症，并接受了剖宫产。形态学特征显示急性化脓性绒毛膜炎和绒毛膜炎，伴有大量革兰氏阳性杆菌，高度提示为胎盘李斯特菌病。多重聚合酶链反应证实存在单增李斯特菌。
