Caroline Charlier, Coralie Noel, Lukas Hafner, Alexandra Moura, Claire Mathiaud, Aurélia Pitsch, Chakib Meziane, Lydie Jolly-Sanchez, Astrid de Pontfarcy, Sylvain Diamantis, Hélène Bracq-Dieye, Olivier Disson, Pierre Thouvenot, Guillaume Valès, Nathalie Tessaud-Rita, Mathieu Tourdjman, Alexandre Leclercq, Marc Lecuit
We report a case of fulminant fatal neonatal listeriosis due to horizontal transmission of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in a neonatal double room. Genomic analyses reveal a close genetic relationship between clinical isolates, supporting cross-contamination. Oral inoculation experiments in adult and neonatal mice show that neonates are susceptible to a low Lm inoculum and that this susceptibility results from the immaturity of the neonatal gut microbiota. Infected neonates should therefore be isolated for as long as they shed Lm in their feces to avoid horizontal transmission and its dire consequences...
June 24, 2023: Cell reports medicine