In plain words
Bacteremia means bacteria are present in the blood. It is a finding on a blood culture, and it is not a disease on its own. Many kinds of bacteria can cause it. In pregnancy, the one most often discussed is , a germ found in some unpasteurized dairy, deli meats, and ready-to-eat foods. Listeria can cross the placenta and infect the baby, even when the mother has only mild symptoms or none. That is why food safety guidance for pregnancy is so specific. Clinicians also use the word when a blood culture grows bacteria during a fever or infection after birth. Mothers may hear it in the hospital if they have a fever after delivery. Clinicians take bacteremia seriously because bacteria in the blood can spread to other organs.
The deeper version
Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular Gram-positive bacterium that grows at 4 degrees Celsius. It invades intestinal epithelium through internalin binding to E-cadherin, spreads between cells using actin polymerization, and crosses the placenta through the syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous trophoblast, which express the receptors it uses. The placenta can become a reservoir that seeds maternal bacteremia, and fetal infection can lead to , , preterm birth, or neonatal sepsis. Pregnancy involves relative changes in cell-mediated immunity, which is one reason pregnant people are at higher risk than the general population. Bacteremia is confirmed by blood culture. CDC guidance advises pregnant people to avoid the highest-risk foods, while the risk from low-level contamination of ready-to-eat foods is debated.
Where it comes up
- Food safety: listeria, mercury, raw foodsPregnancy: Eating
- Fever in a newborn is an emergencyBaby Basics
- When to call the pediatrician (and when to go in)Baby Basics
- What to eat in pregnancy: the short versionPregnancy: Eating
- Signs of infection after birthPostpartum: Your Body
What mothers here say about bacteremia
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Listeria (listeriosis): information for pregnant people
- Lamont RF and colleagues — Listeriosis in human pregnancy: a systematic review. Journal of Perinatal Medicine, 2011