Listeria placental infection

The gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the causative agent of listeriosis, a severe foodborne infection. Pregnant women are at risk of contracting listeriosis, potentially leading to miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth and congenital neonatal infections. While other systemic bacterial infections may result in adverse pregnancy outcomes at comparable frequencies, L. monocytogenes has particular notoriety because fetal complications largely occur in the absence of overt illness in the mother, delaying medical intervention. Here, we briefly review the pathophysiology and mechanisms of materno-fetal listeriosis, discussed in light of a recent mBio report on Listeria transplacental infection in a nonhuman primate model.