An epidemiological study of listeriosis complicating a bone marrow transplant

Following an unrelated-donor bone marrow transplant a six-year-old child with severe aplastic anaemia developed Listeria monocytogenes septicaemia and meningitis. Cook-chill foods consumed during his stay in hospital were found to contain strains of L. monocytogenes and other Listeria species. Whole cell protein SDS-PAGE was performed on all isolates. No food isolates were found that were identical to the patient's strain by this technique or by serotyping. The usefulness of whole cell protein SDS electrophoresis for listeria strain differentiation is discussed.