Tests for listeriosis
Treatments for listeriosis
The physical signs of listeriosis are not always obvious. In fact in many cases, listeriosis will not produce any noticeable physical symptoms. Therefore, it is possible to have listeriosis and not be aware of it. If a person does experience physical signs, they can be similar to having the flu. For example, a fever, headaches and /or mild aches and pains. Some people will also experience the typical signs of food poisoning (such as vomiting and diarrhoea), but this is not always the case. In extremely rare cases, listeriosis can cause an infection of the blood (or 'septicaemia'), or an infection of the brain ('meningitis') or a lung infection ('pneumonia').
The incubation period (or the time from when a person comes in contact with the listeria bacteria, to when they become ill) varies widely. The incubation period can be as little as 1 day, or as long as 90 days, making identification of the food or activity that caused the listeriosis extremely difficult. If a pregnant woman is infected with the listeria bacteria, her baby is likely to become infected approximately 3 days after she does. If her baby does develop listeriosis, there is 30 - 55% chance of experiencing a
miscarriage or
stillbirth.
Tests for listeriosis
Listeriosis is a difficult infection to test for. There is really no test available that can show if a person is infected with the listeria bacterium. The only situation in which a test can be performed is if the woman develops the extremely rare complication of a blood infection (or 'septicaemia'), and her blood test (known as a 'blood culture') grows listeria.
If a baby is stillborn, sometimes bacterial swab tests of the
placenta, or the woman's vagina after the birth, or the baby's bowel motion (called 'meconium'), may show the presence of listeria.