Molecular evidence for vertical transmission of listeriosis, Taiwan.

The case is presented of a pregnant woman at the 31st week of gestation with Listeria monocytogenes bacteraemia and microabscess formation in the endometrium, who delivered an infant with disseminated infection (meningitis and bacteraemia). The two patients were successfully treated with intravenous ampicillin and gentamicin. Molecular typing using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis disclosed that three isolates from the mother (blood) and infant (blood and cerebrospinal fluid) had identical RAPD profiles.