The current Listeria outbreak has generated questions about TriCore Reference Laboratories' testing services for Listeria monocytogenes. Here is information about Listeria, a description of our services, and a list of resources for additional information:
Presentation of Listeria
In elderly and immunocompromised persons, sepsis and meningitis are the main presentations. Pregnant women may experience a mild, flu-like illness followed either by fetal loss, or by bacteremia or meningitis in their newborns. Immunocompetent persons may experience a self-limiting acute febrile gastroenteritis.
TriCore Testing for Listeria
- TriCore will order a blood culture on each specimen for which Listeria testing is requested.
- In keeping with our usual procedures, Listeria will be isolated (if present) in every blood culture we perform, regardless of whether the culture was ordered specifically for Listeria.
- Listeria will also be isolated (if present) in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cultures that we perform.
- TriCore DOES NOT perform Listeria testing on stool specimens. For more information regarding stool testing for Listeria, please contact the State Epidemiology Department at
505-827-0006.
For Further Information
- To learn more about TriCore's Listeria testing, contact the Infectious Diseases Laboratory at
505-938-8879 or 800-245-3296 Ext. 8879.
- Additional information can be found on the following pages of the CDC's website:
Information on Listeriosis