Key Clinical Message
Tumbling motility is one of the useful characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes. This can be helpful to identify the causative pathogen along with Gram staining before the confirmatory microbiological examination.
Keywords: Gram‐positive bacillus, Listeria monocytogenes, meningitis, tumbling motility
A 79‐year‐old woman presented with high fever and headache for 2 days. On admission, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed pleocytosis with polynuclear leukocyte predominance. CSF cultures revealed blue–gray colonies that comprised gram‐positive bacilli with tumbling motility (Video S1), which was turned out to be Listeria monocytogenes. Ampicillin and gentamicin for 3 weeks were administered and eventually, her symptoms improved. Listeria is an aerobic, beta‐hemolytic, gram‐positive bacillus, which exhibits tumbling motility on light microscopy 1. This characteristic of L. monocytogenes is evident through peritrichous flagella movement and is clinically useful to corroborate high suspicion of Listeria infection before the confirmatory microbiological examination.
Conflict of Interest
Nothing to declare.
Authorship
NM: assisted in the preparation of the manuscript. AS: made critical review of the manuscript. KF: approved the article finally.
Supporting information
Video S1. “Tumbling motility” of Listeria monocytogenes.
Clinical Case Reports 2018; 6(6): 1195
Reference
- 1. Farber, J. M. , and Peterkin P. I.. 1991. Listeria monocytogenes, a food‐borne pathogen. Microbiol. Rev. 55:476–511. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
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Supplementary Materials
Video S1. “Tumbling motility” of Listeria monocytogenes.