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What is Listeria and how is it spread?
What are the symptoms of Listeria?
How can Listeria affect my unborn baby?
How can I protect my unborn baby from
Listeria?
What should I do if I've eaten a food that has
been recalled because of Listeria contamination?
Is there treatment for Listeria
during pregnancy?
For more information
What is Listeria
and how is it spread?
Listeria is a type of bacteria found in soil, water, and
sometimes on plants. Though Listeria is all around our
environment, most Listeria infections in people are from
eating contaminated foods.
What are the symptoms
of Listeria?
Because the symptoms of listeriosis can take a few days or even
weeks to appear and can be mild, you may not even know you have it.
This is why it's very important to take appropriate food safety
precautions during pregnancy.
In pregnant women, listeriosis may cause flu-like symptoms:
- Fever
- Chills
- Muscle aches
- Diarrhea
- Upset stomach
If the infection spreads to the nervous system, the symptoms may
include:
- Headache
- Stiff neck
- Confusion
- Loss of balance
- Convulsions
Consult your doctor or healthcare provider if you have these
symptoms. A blood test can be performed to find out if your symptoms
are caused by listeriosis.
How can Listeria
affect my unborn baby?
Listeriosis can be passed to an unborn baby through the placenta
even if the mother is not showing signs of illness. This can lead
to:
- Premature delivery
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
- Serious health problems for the newborn
How can I protect my
unborn baby from Listeria?
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) provide the following advice for
pregnant women:
- Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats unless
they are reheated until steaming hot.
- Avoid getting fluid from hot dog packages on other foods,
utensils, and food preparation surfaces, and wash hands after
handling hot dogs, luncheon meats, and deli meats.
- Do not eat soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, Camembert,
blue-veined cheeses, and Mexican-style cheeses such as "queso
blanco fresco."
- It is safe to eat hard cheeses, semi-soft cheeses such
as mozzarella, pasteurized processed cheese slices and
spreads, cream cheese, and cottage cheese.
- Do not eat refrigerated pâté or meat spreads.
- It is safe to eat canned or shelf-stable pâté and meat
spreads.
- Do not eat refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is an
ingredient in a cooked dish such as a casserole. Examples of
refrigerated smoked seafood include salmon, trout, whitefish,
cod, tuna, and mackerel which are most often labeled as
"nova-style," "lox," "kippered," "smoked," or "jerky." This fish
is found in the refrigerated section or sold at deli counters of
grocery stores and delicatessens.
- It is safe to eat canned fish such as salmon and tuna or
shelf-stable smoked seafood.
- Do not drink raw (unpasteurized) milk or eat foods that
contain unpasteurized milk.
- Use all refrigerated perishable items that are precooked or
ready-to-eat as soon as possible.
- Clean your refrigerator regularly.
- Use a refrigerator thermometer to make sure that the
refrigerator always stays at 40 °F or below.
What should I do if
I've eaten a food that has been recalled because of Listeria
contamination?
If you have eaten food contaminated with Listeria and do not
have any symptoms, most experts believe you don’t need any tests or
treatment, even if you are pregnant.
However, you should tell your physician or healthcare provider if
you are pregnant and have eaten the contaminated food, and within 2
months experience flu-like symptoms.
Is there treatment
for Listeria during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, antibiotics are given to treat listeriosis in the
mother. In most cases, the antibiotics also prevent infection of the
fetus or newborn. Antibiotics are also given to babies who are born
with listeriosis.
For more information
CDC Listeria home page
Food Safety and Inspection
Service Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854)
TTY: 1-800-256-7072
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention / Foodborne Illness Line (24-hour
recorded information)
1-888/232-3228
U. S. Food and Drug
Administration
Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
1-888-SAFEFOOD
Gateway to Government Food
Safety Information
Partnership for Food
Safety Education
International Food Information Council
( IFIC) Foundation
[Return to top of page]
Date: August 16, 2006
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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