Epidemic outbreak materno-fetal listeriosis in Gran Canaria

Abstract

Listeriosis can appear in an epidemic form, affecting the pregnant woman and the newborn in a higher proportion. Its incidence in Spain is of 0.5 cases out of a million inhabitants per year. We describe an outbreak detected between June 1992 and March 1993 in Gran Canaria, which includes 21 cases, 11 of which were associated to pregnancy. Five cases were diagnosed during the gestation and four of them appeared in the second term as septic miscarriages. The fifth case evolved favorably. All of them included high maternal fever. In six cases the diagnosis was performed post delivery through neonatal sepsis. There were two preterm gestations. The hospitalization was, in four cases for induction, one case for labour and the sixth for threat of premature labour. A high incidence of intra-labour fever, dyed amniotic liquid, alterations of the foetal cardiac frequency and caesarean sections were detected. A newborn died post-delivery.