Listeriosis and high risk groups
Listeriosis usually presents as self-limiting gastroenteritis but invasive listeriosis is a concern for high risk groups such as the elderly and pregnant women.
Documents
Details
Listeriosis is predominately a foodborne disease, usually presenting as self-limiting gastroenteritis occurring after consumption of contaminated ready-to-eat foods. However, the risk of invasive listeriosis in high risk groups has been widely recognised. These include the elderly, immunocompromised, and pregnant women.
A review of the evidence suggests that smoked fish is a high risk product for invasive listeriosis in the UK in vulnerable groups, although the overall risk to the population remains low.
Precautionary dietary advice is available on NHS.UK for:
See also the Food Standards Agency website for further advice.
Updates to this page
-
Correction to number of cases for incident 6 in Table 1.
-
First published.