Infecciones por Listeria, Corynebacterium y Bacillus

Abstract

Listeria, Corynebacterium, and Bacillus are ubiquitous gram-positive bacilli. L. monocytogenes is a zoonotic pathogen that is transmitted by food. Listeriosis is a disease with a wide spectrum of severity that ranges from self-limiting febrile gastroenteritis to severe invasive disease with frequent involvement of the central nervous system. It predominantly affects people with some degree of cellular immunosuppression. It has a predilection for pregnant women, in whom it does not tend to produce severe disease, but is associated with severe obstetric complications and high rates of neonatal morbidity and mortality. C. diphtheriae is the causal agent of cutaneous or respiratory tract diphtheria, with potential cardiac or neurological complications mediated by the diphtheria toxin. The rest of the Corynebacterium species have traditionally been considered saprobionts, although various species have been described as the causal agents of opportunistic infections in recent decades. B. anthracis produces cutaneous, respiratory, or gastrointestinal anthrax, according to the spores’ route of entry. The spores are capable of germinating and multiplying, generating the toxin that is responsible for the disease. It is considered a potential bioterrorism agent for its high degree of lethality.