Listeria septicemia complicating bone marrow transplantation for Diamond-Blackfan syndrome

Infection with Listeria monocytogenes is uncommon in patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy, and is even rarer among recipients of bone marrow transplantation. Hemosiderosis, either idiopathic or caused by transfusion, appears to be another risk factor. We report a 3-year-old Chinese girl with transfusion-dependent Diamond-Blackfan syndrome who had L. monocytogenes septicemia when she received an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. She was treated successfully with intravenous ampicillin. Our case adds to the clinical evidence that patients with iron overload are susceptible to listeriosis, particularly when they are immunocompromised and do not receive iron-chelation treatment.