An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
November 5th, 2011
A Mysteriosis about Listeriosis
For obvious reasons, listeriosis has been much in the news recently. The latest information from CDC on the Colorado cantaloupe outbreak cites 139 cases and 29 deaths.
The recent outbreak aside, however, actual cases of listeriosis are pretty rare. We easily could go months in our hospital without seeing a single case, and we have the largest obstetrical service in New England.
Which brings me to the mystery part: Why is medical student knowledge about listeria so high?
I meet with the medical students to review basics of antibiotics at the beginning of every rotation. Depending on the time of year and the number of prior clinical rotations they’ve done, they have variable amounts of ID knowledge before they get here.
But all of them know about listeria. And they know a lot about it.
- Causative organism? (Listeria monocytogenes — check)
- Dietary risk factors? (deli meats, soft cheeses, now cantaloupes — check)
- Population at risk? (pregnant women, transplant patients, and the elderly — check)
- Clinical manifestations? (meningitis, sepsis, gastroenteritis — check)
- Antibiotic of choice? (ampicillin — check)
They seem to know way more about listeria than they do about far more common infections, such as Strep pneumoniae or Epstein-Barr virus.
It’s the oddest thing. Any proposed explanations for this remarkable expertise would be most welcome.
6 Responses to “A Mysteriosis about Listeriosis”
Paul E. Sax, MD
Associate Editor
NEJM Clinician
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FROM NEJM — Recent Infectious Disease Articles- Scrofuloderma August 29, 2026A 72-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of a painful lump on his neck. Cytologic analysis of fine-needle aspirate was consistent with suppurative lymphadenopathy. The lesion subsequently ulcerated and released purulent discharge.
- Response-Tailored or Standard-Duration Antibiotic Treatment for Infective Endocarditis August 28, 2026Among adults with endocarditis caused by S. aureus, E. faecalis, or streptococcus species, tailored-duration antibiotic therapy led to 13 more days alive without antibiotics than standard therapy, but with a higher incidence of relapse.
- Severe Plasmodium falciparum Malaria August 20, 2026An 82-year-old man was brought to the ED after being “found down.” One week earlier, he had returned from a 1-month visit to Chad. A peripheral-blood smear showed ring-form trophozoites within erythrocytes.
- Case 24-2026: A 74-Year-Old Man with Dyspnea, Proximal Muscle Weakness, and Hypoxemia August 20, 2026A 74-year-old man with myasthenia gravis was evaluated for dyspnea, proximal muscle weakness, hypoxemia, and a painful tongue lesion. Medications included prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil. A diagnosis was made.
- A Regional Measles Outbreak — South Carolina, 2025–2026 August 13, 2026In South Carolina, 997 measles cases occurred in the reported outbreak. In one health care system, 81 cases were identified. Most were in unvaccinated persons; 13 persons were hospitalized, and 2 had measles encephalitis.
- Scrofuloderma August 29, 2026
For starters, look back to the board exams of the last two decades. There has been a Listeria question on every board exam I’ve ever taken. It’s also been in every board review book I’ve seen (obviously with good reason). If nothing else, we’ve taught our med students to be good test takers.
Perhaps we should also look at the knowledge of the average attending physician. Feel comfortable discussing Listeria on rounds? Well, its been part of pimping lore for a generation….so, Check. Feel comfortable discussing the epidemiology, manifestations, and interpretation of the test of choice for EBV……or the impact on S. pneumo sensitivity patterns on the treatment of meningitis?……Hmm, maybe not so much. That’s when I get a sidebar consult from said attending. Bottom line, we can’t teach what we don’t know. [And to be fair, there’s a wide swath of non-ID subjects I avoid during rounds….]
The same reason that everyone remembers scorpions cause pancreatitis but doesn’t remember drugs. Everyone loves a fascinoma.
I guess it’s because:
– many medschool teachers fail to balance topics by their clinical relevance.
– so do medical textbooks.
– so do, of course, popular media/mass media.
– and a combination of these: it might be more fascinating to go through 500 words of listeriosis – which has been on the news – than go through 50 pages of stroke.
regards,
a.
Jc is exactly right. People dont ask us the easy or common questions often, but you get points for pulling zebras out of your hat. I just took step 1, and I can go on at length about Charcot Marie tooth disease. Please don’t ask me to handle hypertension; I haven’t had my family medicine rotation yet.
Dear UNC MS3 (and others),
Thanks for the MS perspective. Makes sense.
Love that image!
Paul
It is nice to know that pulling zebras out of hats is appreciated more than knowing how to treat hypertension & Strep pneumoniae by medical schools all over the world!