Wed, May 08, 2024 page3

• CDC reports mom-to-baby listeria case

  POSSIBLE CAUSE: The mother had eaten salads and precut fruit, which the bacteria can be found on, but people with healthy immune systems usually have mild symptoms

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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  This year’s first instance of vertical transmission of Listeria monocytogenes (listeria) from a mother to her newborn was reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, urging expectant mothers to avoid high-risk foods.

  The mother was 34 weeks pregnant in mid-April when she sought medical treatment for a fever, fatigue and a stomachache, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.

  As tests found she had a raised white blood cell count and inflammation markers, while the fetus had an irregular heartbeat and the mother’s membrane had ruptured prematurely, she had an emergency caesarean section, Lin said.

  

  Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times

  The newborn had low vital signs and a pale face, so she was admitted to intensive care, he said, adding that the mother and daughter both tested positive for listeriosis.

  They have both recovered and been discharged, he added.

  Lin said the mother did not travel abroad during pregnancy, but she had eaten salads, precut fruit and unheated leftovers, which are high-risk foods for listeria contamination.

  However, as listeria can have a long incubation period, it would be difficult to pinpoint the source of her infection, he added.

  Fifty-one cases of listeria have been reported this year, which is about the same as in previous years, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said, adding that 78 percent of them involved people aged 60 or older.

  Listeria is a type of pathogenic bacteria that is widely found in the environment, and most people are infected by ingesting contaminated food, Lin said.

  As it can survive and grow at temperatures as low as 4°C, it can continue growing on contaminated food in the refrigerator, and food needs to be heated to 72°C or higher to kill it, he said.

  To prevent listeria infection, people should wash their hands thoroughly before and after handling food, separate equipment for handling raw and cooked foods, and avoid unpasteurized milk and dairy products, Lin said.

  Listeria is commonly found on foods such as packaged salads, precut fruit, and ready-to-eat meat or braised products, he said.

  In people with healthy immune systems, symptoms are usually mild, such as gastrointestinal issues and a fever, and a listeria infection can go away without treatment, Lin said.

  However, for people with weakened immune systems, elderly people or pregnant women and newborns, an infection can cause serious illness or even death, and has a fatality rate of about 20 percent if left untreated, he said.

  Gou said that 16,240 hospital visits for enterovirus were reported last week, an increase of 13.4 percent from the previous week.

  It was the highest number for the same week in a decade, Gou said.

  Coxsackie A virus is the main enterovirus that has been circulating for the past few weeks, he said, adding that enterovirus activity is expected to continue rising.

  Enterovirus activity has exceeded the epidemic threshold this year, and in the past four weeks, 126 classes, 155 classes, 104 classes and 167 classes were suspended due to enterovirus, significantly higher than the numbers recorded during the same weeks last year, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said.

  She urged people, especially those who often come into close contact with young children, to practice good hand hygiene and be alert for signs of severe complications in children aged five or under.

  Meanwhile, 229 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 last week and 31 people died, Gou said, adding that 79 percent of those hospitalized and 90 percent of those who died were people aged 65 or older.

  Tseng said studies have suggested the new KP.2 strain, which falls under the FLiRT subvariant of the Omicron JN.1 variant, is more infectious than the previous JN.1 variant, and has the potential to become the next dominant strain globally, but there is no evidence showing that it is more severe than previous variants.

  Evidence suggests that COVID-19 antigen and PCR tests are still capable of identifying the new variant, while the XBB-adapted vaccine is still effective against JN.1, she said.
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