Perinatal listeriosis. A report of six cases.

The clinical and pathological findings in six patients with perinatal listeriosis are presented. One pregnancy resulted in a live-born infant who developed listerial septicaemia but made a complete recovery following prompt treatment. The other pregnancies ended in intrauterine death. Often antecedent maternal prodromal illness preceded expulsion of a macerated fetus by only a matter of hours making early diagnosis difficult. In all cases the diagnosis of listerial infection was apparent only after the birth of the fetus or new born.