Invasive listeriosis in Denmark 1994-2003: A review of 299 cases with special emphasis on risk factors for mortality

P. Gerner-Smidt*, S. Ethelberg, P. Schiellerup, J. J. Christensen, J. Engberg, V. Fussing, A. Jensen, C. Jensen, A. M. Petersen, B. G. Bruun

*Corresponding author for this work
82 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Listeriosis is a rare, but serious, foodborne infection which, in the invasive form, presents as bloodstream (BS) infection, an infection of the central nervous system (CNS), a maternofetal infection or a focal infection. The disease is notifiable in Denmark. This paper reviews the results of the Danish surveillance of invasive listeriosis from 1994 to 2003, excluding maternofetal cases. In total, 299 invasive cases of listeriosis were reported. Two-thirds of the cases were caused by isolates of serogroup 1/2, and one-third by serogroup 4. Most (70%) cases had conditions known to predispose to listeriosis. More patients with BS infection were predisposed because of concurrent underlying illness than were patients with CNS infection. Half of the patients were aged >70 years, and 21% died of the disease. There was no change in the case fatality rate (CFR) during the 10-year period. The CFR was identical for men and women. BS and CNS infection caused the same incidence of mortality, but no mortality was observed in patients with focal infections at normally sterile body sites. In a multivariate analysis, isolates belonging to serogroup 4 were associated with a higher CFR than were isolates of serogroup 1/2. In patients aged <70 years, underlying conditions predisposing to disease were related strongly to mortality, which was not the case in patients aged >70 years. The underlying conditions associated most strongly with mortality in the younger age group were non-haematological malignancies.

Original languageEnglish
JournalClinical Microbiology and Infection
Volume11
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)618-624
Number of pages7
ISSN1198-743X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2005

Keywords

  • Invasive disease
  • Listeriosis
  • Mortality
  • Multivariate analysis
  • Risk factors

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