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Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Listeria monocytogenes Infection of the Brain
Published on: October 2, 2018
Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in CSF from Three Patients with Meningoencephalitis by Next-Generation Sequencing
Ming Yao1, Jiali Zhou2, Yicheng Zhu1
1Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Background And Purpose:
Encephalitis caused by Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is rare but sometimes fatal. Early diagnosis is difficult using routine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests, while next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly being used for the detection and characterization of pathogens.
Methods:
This study set up and applied unbiased NGS to detect L. monocytogenes in CSF collected from three cases of clinically suspected listeria meningoencephalitis.
Results:
Three cases of patients with acute/subacute meningoencephalitis are reported. Magnetic resonance imaging and blood cultures led to a suspected diagnosis of L. monocytogenes, while the CSF cultures were negative. Unbiased NGS of CSF identified and sequenced reads corresponding to L. monocytogenes in all three cases.
Conclusions:
This is the first report highlighting the feasibility of applying NGS of CSF as a diagnostic method for central nervous system (CNS) L. monocytogenes infection. Routine application of this technology in clinical microbiology will significantly improve diagnostic methods for CNS infectious diseases.
Insights
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) successfully detected Listeria monocytogenes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for three patients with suspected meningoencephalitis, offering a new diagnostic approach for CNS infections.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Infectious Diseases
- Genomics
Background:
- Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) encephalitis is a rare but severe infection.
- Diagnosing L. monocytogenes CNS infections is challenging with conventional cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of unbiased next-generation sequencing (NGS) for detecting L. monocytogenes in CSF.
- To establish NGS as a diagnostic tool for central nervous system (CNS) infections.
Main Methods:
- Unbiased NGS was applied to CSF samples from three patients with suspected listeria meningoencephalitis.
- CSF cultures were performed for comparison.
Main Results:
- CSF cultures were negative in all three cases.
- Unbiased NGS identified and sequenced L. monocytogenes in all three CSF samples.
- This confirmed L. monocytogenes as the causative agent.
Conclusions:
- This study demonstrates the effectiveness of NGS for diagnosing CNS L. monocytogenes infections.
- Implementing NGS in clinical microbiology can significantly enhance the diagnosis of CNS infectious diseases.
