LISTERIA MENINGITIS IN A CHILD WITH A HISTORY OF PICA

Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is a potentially life threatening cause of bacterial meningitis which usually occurs in neonates, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. The pharmacological management is different to other strains of bacterial meningitis and therefore a suspicion and timely diagnosis are important to reduce risk of complications.

Case Presentation: We report a previously healthy 23 month old with a presentation of sepsis. The final diagnosis of listeria meningitis was not initially suspected due to her age. She did however have a history of eating soil.

Results: The patient recovered from meningitis once the bacterium was established after 3 weeks of intravenous amoxicillin treatment.

Conclusion: Further research into whether eating soil is a risk factor for listeria meningitis could improve guidelines for management and reduce the delay in prescribing the correct treatments.