OBJECTIVE:

To analyze the epidemic outbreak in pregnant women attending a tertiary hospital in Seville, describe the medical care and evaluate their perinatal outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study of the epidemic outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in August 2019 in Andalusia, carried out in pregnant women who attended the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinical Management Unit of a third-level hospital. Study variables: symptoms, leukocytosis, elevated CRP, diagnostic techniques for detection of the microorganism in blood, placenta or amniotic fluid, antibiotic requirement, need for hospitalization, and perinatal and maternal outcomes.

RESULTS:

There were 87 pregnant women who came for consultation due to the outbreak: 57 were symptomatic and 30 were asymptomatic. Fifty-three patients received prophylactic antibiotic treatment at home and 14 required intravenous treatment. Five cases of listeriosis were confirmed. Of these, 3 occurred during the third trimester of pregnancy. Perinatal outcomes were: 2 fetal deaths and 3 healthy term newborns. Maternal mortality was nil.

CONCLUSIONS:

This outbreak of listeriosis is unprecedented and is the largest documented in Spain to date. The great social alarm generated among the pregnant population and the seriousness of the possible adverse perinatal outcomes led most of the pregnant women attended to receive prophylactic antibiotics.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )